Love and Other Small Insanities
by Arrancarzors
Summary: "Cards on the table/we're both showing hearts..." [Solangelo, Will/Nico one-shots; updates on weekends] Cover-art by minuiko.
1. Il Buon Dottore

**A/N: Because no one read _Blood of Olympus_ and didn't forsee fangirls crying, "Flow forth, Fount of Yaoi!"**

**One-shots will gradually scale into M territory, and some content may be censored for posting here due to this "No MA content" business.**  
><strong>Links to uncensored versions of the final chapters might in turn appear on my profile, for APPROPRIATELY-AGED readers to follow.<strong>

**Also, I must inform you that HERE THERE BE GAY LOVE. Don't be shocked and offended once you've read it and realized it's two guys. **

[This chapter rated: T]

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><p>"School!?"<p>

Nico nearly spat out the thermometer in his mouth. Across the tent, Will nodded absently but didn't look up from his clipboard.

"Yep," he said simply, flipping a page on his clipboard; Nico could see him barely suppressing a grin. "Now that this Gaea mess is over, we can all go back to doing normal, mortal-y things... Remember those? I recall there being fewer sword-fights with primordial entities, at least. Also some Harlem Shake thing."

Nico nearly ground his teeth against the rod in frustration, but remembered at the last second the poison within it. Wouldn't do to survive the battle with Mother Earth and then die of mercury poisoning, would it?

Will Solace made Nico grind his teeth a lot, you see.

If the healer was counting on that grin to save him, it wasn't going to work this time... It _was _a cute one, though - wide, crooked, and mischievous enough that it seemed better suited to grace the face of Connor Stoll... When Will had evil in mind, it was painfully obvious. And pretty sexy, too.  
>Sincerely hoping the thermometer wouldn't measure him flushing, Nico forced himself to believe it was the thought of modern high school (rather than the good doctor) making him feel so nervous.<p>

"High school is _not _relaxing," he protested, glaring daggers at Will. "It is full of teenagers who think everything outside the norm needs to be beat up or shoved inside a locker."

"They make the lockers smaller nowadays just for that reason," Will offered cheerfully, still not looking at Nico.

"Small comfort," the younger murmured. "You don't get more outside of the norm than summoning skeletons out of the ground. Even if they weren't cramming me into trash cans and toilets, they'd be terrified... No one would talk to me. It'd be worse than here..."

"Hey!" _Now _Will was looking, green eyes narrowed severely.  
>"What did we talk about? <em>Plenty <em>of people want to talk to you- you just won't open up and let them. You've got to stop assuming people hate you off the bat. In fact, that's why you're going back to school: to learn that! Now stop whining- it's doctor's orders."

He surged forward and swiped the thermometer out of Nico's mouth before the boy could even form a retort. "Now shirt off, I need to listen to your heart. Stupid shadow-traveling..."

This was usually Nico's favorite part of his daily check-ups. In spite of Will's more infuriating tendencies, he'd been nursing a crush on the Camp medic since they'd worked together to disable the Roman onagers. It was precisely those annoying things, Nico was beginning to think, that made Will so appealing. He was Nico's opposite in most every way, but he _was _happy- and for some reason, that was very attractive. Will was a good influence, he had to admit... It's just that arguing with him could be like trying to reason with a Cyclops, and even put a damper on being physically close to his new crush.

"So assuming I don't unwittingly swallow the school in a pit that leads straight to the Fields of Punishment," he sighed, playing with the edge of his T-shirt (he always worried that he was too pale, too skinny, and so dragged out this part), "I don't even technically exist. All my identification and things are back in the forties. How would I even get registered?"

"Chiron takes care of all that for the year-round campers," Will answered, clicking the end of a pen repeatedly as he jotted something down on Nico's chart. "You know, the kids who don't have anyone to go home to."  
>He looked up and paused, as though making sure he hadn't said anything insensitive. He knew Nico's story as well as any other camper (save for certain events in Dalmatia, and- thankfully- those in Albania). When Nico merely shrugged, he continued:<p>

"So unless there's a Hades High in the Fields of Asphodel, you'll be going to the one about ten miles down the highway. A little Mist on the papers'll do the trick. Now, shirt off."

"My father's never said I needed an education..."

"And your father doesn't have to count his own change or get into college. Shirt. Off."

So there were no technicalities to escape on... Crap. He was still thumbing his shirt hem, trying to think of something, when Will finished writing and covered the small room in two strides, standing super-close and leaning right smack in Nico's personal bubble.

"Look, you can't even take your own clothes off. You may need to go back a few grades... I think it was in kindergarten they covered that?"

He said all this while pulling Nico's shirt over the boy's dark head, popping the cold stethoscope heart against Nico's bare chest, and cupping the boy around the back to thump him and listen for lung problems. Caught off guard, the rush of physical contact made Nico's face burn with what he knew must be an embarassingly-visible blush. Sometimes being pale really sucked.

"Breathe normally," Will commanded.

_I'll try, _Nico thought.

A few seconds of deep sighs helped. Will went through the motions of this part of the exam, always glancing surrupticiously away. Nico couldn't shake the feeling that he did this because he found Nico's body repulsive (the thought particularly tortured him at night, before he went to sleep). He felt himself quail just remembering, and he wished in spite of himself that Will weren't so close.

"Don't sulk," Will said into space. "I'm just kidding. You get flustered so easy that it's hard not to mess with you. It's- it's funny."

Nico had a strange feeling that Will had intended to use another adjective, there- but he shook the curiosity away, still embarrassed (and yes, a little pissed about being _forced _to go to school).

"See what I mean? _Everyone _will mess with me- that's what I'm worried about. But no, it's _doctor's orders_..."

He deliberately mimicked Will on the last two words; the physician's face broke back into that wonderful, evil smile, and from his rolling seat he looked up, straight into Nico's face. Sun-kissed blonde hair, laughing eyes the color of fresh grass... Nico nearly swooned.

"You'll be fine," Will promised, his voice now as warm as a mug of honeyed tea. "You've been through a lot, Nico- but you're not as messed up or abnormal as you think you are. That's why I want you to go: I want you to get a chance to be normal and just- realize you're okay, you know? Can you do that for me?"

_Gods,_ y_es! _The words surged through him and made his limbs tingle. Will thought he was _okay. _For a second, Nico would have gladly let himself be stuffed into a locker, as long as it meant Will Solace would keep looking him in the eyes this way...

On the outside, though, he remained calm. He narrowed his eyes, pretending to think the matter over.

"Can a Protector go with me? Just to hang around and make sure I don't hurt anyone?"

"I can talk to Chiron about it." Will smiled even wider, if that was possible. "I'd go with you myself, if I weren't too old."

Even the thrill of that statement couldn't stop a huge fear from popping up in Nico's chest: he'd never thought about their age difference. What if Will was too old and mature to ever think Nico would be... would be...  
>"How old <em>are <em>you?" the boy asked.

"18 in October", Will answered, his brow furrowing a bit. Nico had let a little panic seep into his voice. "Getting into freshman classes with you would be a little hard, since I look older..."

Nico's mind raced. _I'll be fifteen in October... Does three years mean that much, nowadays? Does that even matter with guys? I've technically been alive for longer than him- does __that__ count?_

"Why? Do you really want me to come with you that bad?"

"N-no!" Nico gulped, the backtracked: "I mean, you're busy here. I'll be okay. Y-you'd just make me mad anyway... But not in a bad way!"

Will's barked with laughter, and swiveled away from the exam table.  
>"It's okay, I'm not going to give you a shot if you make <em>me<em> mad. In fact, I like hearing your rude little self come stumping in... which is why I want to keep up these check-ups for another three days. So I hope it's _not _in a bad way._"_

Three more days of banter with the guy who wanted to go to school with him? The one who 'liked hearing him come in'? Nico played with the edge of his shirt, concealing a thin smile at the thought.

"Even if I don't- doctor's orders, right?"

"You know it, Death Boy," he grinned, as bright and magnetic as one of Hazel's gems. "You know it. Now shirt back on, and I'll see your skinny self tomorrow, same time."

Nico looked forward to it.


	2. Pigiama Party

**A/N: ... Wow. Clearly I have chosen to board the right ship, because this story has gotten a ton of Favs and Follows. Live long and fangirl/boy!**

**I should also mention that these 'shots' are consecutive, but can stand alone as individual stories- so yes, reviewer MyLittleBigBang, we will see more of Nico in school.**

**Trigger Warning- Conservative religion during the 1940's is briefly mentioned as being homophobic in this chapter- but there is ALSO make a nod towards modern churches being more progressive and accepting, and religion being a positive force a few sentences after. No war on anyone intended. **

[This chapter rated: T+]

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><p>Will didn't know how to take a hint.<p>

Really, the guy was fantastic- for the most part. He was sunny, smart, secretly baked a mean pound cake (it was rapidly becoming Nico's favorite food), and looked like the sexiest surfer-boy you could imagine: lanky and svelte, with skin the delicious tan of a caramel candy. His summer-green eyes made Nico melt... but right now, all the son of Hades wanted to do was melt the guy with lasers for being clueless.

It had been a long day: Nico's first week at the local high school had just finished, and our favorite son of Hades was rapidly realizing how behind he was in mortal curriculum. Even basic algebra had soared over his head (nevermind that it was in first period... what poor planning, to schedule math when no one was awake!)

To his credit, Will had been indefatigable with homework help: staying up until midnight some nights making sure Nico fully understood a concept, patiently explaining five times how to graph a parabola on his fancy school calculator, or reading out segments of Shakespeare with great aplomb (his reenactments of the death scenes from Romeo and Juliet were definitely more comedy than tragedy).

But tomorrow was Saturday, and poor Nico wanted nothing more than to turn in and sleep mercifully late tomorrow. Will had shown up at the Hades Cabin at the usual time he did to help with homework, but of course there was none to be had tonight, so Nico had been stuck just... chatting.

In spite of how it filled him with delight to know Will wanted to spend time with him, Nico really, really wished he knew how to throw the guy out tonight.

"So then I said to him, 'What herbs are you talking about?' Turns out he'd eaten some pine needles from Thalia's tree, and the tree wasn't too happy about it. I had to pour ipecac down the moron's throat, and he barfed for three hours straight!" Will finished his latest story with a laugh.  
>He was sitting on the bed Hazel used when she came to visit (not so often, now that she'd been promoted), legs crossed and sneakers on the blanket.<br>Perhaps noticing that Nico hadn't more than politely smiled at his last epic tale, Will's smile became strained. He looked around the cabin blankly, as though hoping something to talk about would jump out from behind the dresser.

"This place looks like a vampire retreat."

"I know. I wasn't around to design it..." Nico murmured. He'd been worried when Will first came over, certain the Halloween motif chosen in his absence would scare the blonde off- but instead he'd found Nico's living arrangements hilarious, and liked closing himself up in Hazel's coffin-bed and pretending to rise out of it like a freshly-woken, Anglo-American Dracula.

This subject was, however, nearly as exhausted as Nico was. The smaller boy stood now in the center of the cabin, eyeing Will's continued presence distastefully.

"Will, I think you need to g-"

"Did I tell you about the Party Ponies that showed up, asking if I had anything that'd explode in Coke because they ran out of Mentos?"

Nico found the speed with which he'd been cut off curious, but shook his head.

"Yes, you did. I was just saying, I'm really tired, and I'd like to get to bed early-"

"I can't leave."

The pair of them blinked at each other for a few moments: Will looking smilingly guilty, Nico confused- and a little flushed.

"B-but why?"

"Someone set fire to my bunk," the older boy answered sheepishly. "Prank, I guess. But at this point in time I don't have a bed, technically. Mister D said he can't get one in until tomorrow. I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I..."

_Oh NO.  
>Gods, no. <em>

Will Solace, _here_? Reclining just a few feet from him, laughing while Nico possibly drooled in his sleep- or worse? Now fifteen, Nico was no stranger to waking up with his underwear stuck to him, or otherwise being spontaneously, uncomfortably stiff about the loins. Considering how often thoughts of Will could make that happen, having the actual thing ten feet away made Nico feel... what exactly _did_ it make him feel?

… Oh, yeah. Like he was going to need to sit down quickly, if he kept thinking about it.

"Y-you can't..."

He hated to say it, but there was no other way. How could he possibly sleep, with Will laying in the next bed? What if _Will_ slept shirtless too? He'd need to shower here, too, probably, and Will would possibly be _naked in his cabin, oh gods no-_

"... You don't have a toothbrush," he finished lamely.

Instantly he regretted it; such a reason wouldn't even slow Will down. He'd logic his way out of that as easily as he'd wormed his way _in_ to Nico's heart...  
>Sure enough, Will just howled with laughter.<p>

"Funny enough, I thought of that beforehand," the blonde said, grinning that wonderful grin and producing a sandwich bag with a bright red brush in it.

"So if there's no other objections..."

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><p>Five minutes later, Nico was trying exceptionally hard not to touch elbows with his sleep-over buddy as they both brushed their teeth in the bathroom's single sink.<p>

"Swanky digs," Will observed, his mouth full of Colgate foam.

"Mm-hmm," Nico dryly replied, scrubbing the same spot in his mouth nearly bloody with terror. Just as you can't stop imaging one when someone yells "Don't think about polar bears!", Nico suddenly couldn't stop images from flashing through his head. Images of a certain nature. Of a certain doctor.

They were making his heart race painfully in his chest... but tinged with the delight of crushing so horribly on someone that their mere presence lit up the day was a horrible feeling, darker than any shadow Nico had ever traveled through. Like the voices of the dead, Nico could feel his fears growing into a deafening crescendo-

He was on the verge of punching himself in the head to make it stop, when Will finally trudged out of the bathroom. Sighing with relief, Nico washed off his toothbrush and quickly locked the bathroom door. Sitting himself on the edge of the marble bath tub, he forced himself to sit with his head between his knees and take deep, calming breaths.

_Dirty homo, _the voices whispered. _You filthy fag. _

_No,_ Nico thought back. _No, I can love whoever I want! Jason said-_

_Jason lied, _they wailed back. _He's just one person. The rest of the world would shun you._

_Annabeth smiled, _he remembered._  
>Annabeth wasn't disgusted... And Dad- Dad knew I loved Percy all along! It isn't 1940... People are better about this now. And even then, Bianca...<em>

His poor, dead sister, reborn somewhere he couldn't reach... Bianca had been the first person to find out- and for the longest time, the only person who knew. When she'd died, Nico had been afraid to trust anyone else with his secret. He still remembered the day she'd found out.

_They were walking home after a day in the park, and Nico had been rambling about another young boy in much the same way he later would about Percy. Bianca had jokingly interrupted her brother's prattling with,"You talk about him so much, you must love him!"  
>And Nico hadn't known what to say, because something had clicked for the first time in his young life.<br>They walked for the longest time down that little dirt road before Nico managed to ask, "Is it okay if I do?"  
>And Bianca had thought a moment, her freckled face inscrutable, before deciding that "Yeah, I think so. As long you're a good husband and you don't leave him... like how Papa left Mammina." <em>

And sure enough, the 40's were not a very liberal time... nor was the priest he brought it up with in Confession, who tried to spritz him with Holy Water for even asking. Nico had felt dirty and abnormal ever since. Being bullied by Cupid, forced to reveal what felt like his inmost sin, had been horrible... but Jason had rallied with him, told him straight away that the Argo II was full of people who would give hell to anyone who bothered Nico about who he chose to love.

He'd been scared to believe it at first... but it really _did _seem that being gay was okay, now. There was even a male couple at his high school, who held hands in Algebra when the teacher turned away. He'd even seen churches with rainbow flags out front, like "Welcome Home" banners for the souls they'd once condemned. That had definitely made him smile. His mother had been the one who took Nico and Bianca to church in their small town back in Italy, and knowing that her faith could accept him made her love somehow seem nearer. The world was a little less scary, for it...

But telling his secret to a specific person- one who's rejection would sting like a dip in the Acheron? _That _was downright terrifying. Even Tartarus, in retrospect, didn't seem so bad, compared to a broken heart...

Nico kept his head between his knees. Will probably _didn't _feel that way about him; it was better to just accept that now, and not hold out hope. But come what may on that front, Nico needed to stop panicking. Love was a right he was entitled to, regardless of what anyone else's opinion- and Will couldn't hate him for thoughts he couldn't see, could he now?

He would just get by with pajamas, tonight. He would change while Will was in the shower, then turn over and pretend to be so resolutely asleep that nothing would wake him up. He would concentrate on falling asleep with a clear head, and cover himself with the biggest, thickest blanket just in case.

With a plan in his head, Nico unlocked the door and prepared to address his new "roomie".

"Hey, Will, I'm gonna-"

Dead silence met him. Curled like a cat on top of the blankets, Will was already fast asleep in Hazel's 'coffin'. Blonde hair lay scattered, like sun-kissed straw, over his forehead. He slept with his mouth open, apparently; a little glob of drool was already forming in the corner of his lip. Light snores wheezed, almost cute, from him with each rumbling breath.

In spite of himself, Nico smiled. Tiptoeing towards his futon, he quietly grabbed a pair of pajamas from the dresser, turned off the light, and climbed into bed to change under the covers.

_Good night to you too, I guess._

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><p>Sound and steam pouring from the shower roused him. Eyes half-open, he could make out the open bathroom door and clouds of hot air billowing from it.<p>

"Don't use the purple towel," he called feebly.

He must have fallen back asleep, because when he woke again the shower had been turned off; the room was cool again, and something heavy was arranging itself on the mattress.

Nico opened his eyes to what was simultaneously his worst nightmare and the best dream ever.

"Morning, sunshine!" Will beamed, patting Nico's knee through the bed covers.

The most handsome surfer-boy-doctor-man in all of Greekdom was sitting, wrapped only in a purple towel, on the bed beside Nico.

"Herferf," Nico replied, with great dignity.  
>If being gay for those abs was wrong, he didn't want to be right...<p>

Will continued to smile in his lean, scrumptious way. His hair was still dripping and his beard spangled with shower water. He smelled softly of soap, but also a whiff of rubbing alcohol from work that apparently didn't wash away.

"Thanks for taking me in last night," he continued. "I know it was unexpected. Sorry if I was acting a little weird, too- I was super tired."

"I wasn't worried- you're always weird," Nico deadpanned. Will's laugh made the morning sun even brighter.

"Maybe I am, Death Breath- maybe I am..."

"_Ugh,_" Nico shrilled, kicking his legs underneath the covers. "That's even worse than 'Death Boy'!"

"Like it?" the blonde grinned. "It's inspired by the stench coming out of your mouth right now."

Nico clapping a hand over his mouth and blushing made Will spasm with humor again.

"Okay, lazy- you eat a mint and go back to bed. While you sleep in, _I'm_ off to slave away at work..."

"What- I'm not- _**go to the crows, Will Solace!**_ And I told you not to use that towel!"

Will grabbed the protesting boy's shoulder, gave it a warm shake, and waltzed back towards the bathroom. Nico, up on his elbows by this point, couldn't help but glare a little softer than usual. Will Solace teased him mercilessly, but it definitely wasn't meant in a mean way. In fact, Nico realized, that's how Will talked to his friends...

Warmth flooded through him, at the thought. Whatever he hoped or feared he and Will might someday become, at this golden moment, on a beautiful Saturday morning at Camp Half-Blood, they were at least friends. That was enough to make even a child of Hades brighten up.

Love thrumming as loud as a heartbeat in his ears, Nico watched the lanky blonde sashaying away...

But then, perhaps assuming the door was already closed behind him, Will whipped the towel off in one, swift motion, before disappearing around the corner. A bit of tan, well-muscled Apollo-son butt cheek was visible for just an instant.

Grateful he was covered from neck to toes, Nico curled on his side. Maybe he _wouldn't _go right to sleep after Will was gone, after all...


	3. La Confesión

**So in a bit of marketing, you're getting two chapters this week. I'm sure no one will be upset over this- or the fact that the first M-rated chapter is complete. I may even hurry along the T-rated chapters to get to them sooner, since they were so fun to write... It really depends on how fast the ship is sailing.**

This chapter rated [T]

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><p>Winter came to Long Island Sound in a sluggish, cumulo-stratus way: at the end of October the sky began to grow grayer and grayer earlier in the day; then round, thin clouds of a whiter hue had moved in from above and dusted the hills around Camp with the first snow of the season. It had been almost continually slushy and white out since.<p>

Happily, Camp had been prepared for the arrival of Christmas almost as soon as the Halloween decorations had been packed away, in the traditional American fashion of decorating for it as soon as humanly possible. Even Mr. D had been seen getting into the Christmas spirit, helping encourage bright red berries to flower along the posts of the Big House's verandah and scolding the remaining Ares kids for decking their cabin in multi-colored dynamite sticks rather than Christmas lights.

Camp definitely wasn't the same, with so many demigods home for the school year- but enough orphans and interim satyrs lived there year-round to make the place seem like more of an off-season park than a wasteland.

Some absences were good, though: a dozen less curfew Harpies (who had all flown South for the snowy season) had benefited the hangings-out of two burgeoning friends: Will Solace and Nico di Angelo.

… Well, it was only _currently _a friendship. If Nico could have anything for Christmas, he knew what he'd wish for: Will Solace's heart.

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><p>The pair had fallen into a regular routine: Will would always be at the top of the hill between the cabins and the dining pavilion before Nico in the morning, yawning hugely. They'd have breakfast before had to Nico pile into the camp's Mist-ensconced ten-seater van with the rest of the high-school-aged demigods (nine if you counted Clovis, who was never really conscious) and head to school. He'd return in the afternoon and relax until dinner, when he and Will would meet up again. After that was homework, usually with Will to help.<p>

The older boy manned the dispensary, clinic, and patient records all day, and was often all by himself for hours. After this he clearly looked forward to hanging out with Nico, and always seemed in good spirits for it, no matter how bad a day he'd had (one memorable Monday had featured a paperwork-eating satyr, an infected dragon bite, boxers set aflame while Will was still wearing them, and several hung-over Party Ponies).

But high school also had plenty of potential for depressing and embarrassing a scrawny demigod, so you'd better believe that Will's sunny smile was something Nico had come to look forward to each day.  
>The younger's crush was nowhere near extinguished- in fact, it seemed that time was wearing away the desperate infatuation and replacing it with a deeper, matured appreciation for every part of Will: his annoying bits as well as the charming ones. Time was deepening Nico's love, rather than eroding it.<p>

Now, the thought of Will never returning his feelings seemed only to matter when he was alone in the dark or prone to melancholy. Even if Will never loved him back, the boy had decided, being his friend had been a grand enough adventure.

Nico had never really been Percy's 'friend' this way, or spent this much time with him; he wondered occasionally why he had ever tolerated crushing on such a distant figure, when friend-dating one who lived a few cabins away and wasn't busy saving the world all the time was so much more pleasant.

Nico felt very at peace, in short.

Which was a sure sign that things were going to change drastically, just to fuck with him.

* * *

><p>The first sign of storm clouds had been their first fight. Nico had crested the hill on the way to breakfast one November morning and, spotting Will's familiar waiting figure, tried not to run dorkily down to meet him. Strangely, Will didn't burst into smiles or try to give him a noogie; he seemed distracted. Nico had outwardly rolled with this, greeting the older boy reservedly and continuing towards the eating patio. Inside, though, he was perturbed at this change.<p>

"Bad night?" he asked, in an unusual display of care. By now they were usually knee-deep in catty insults.

"You could say that," Will replied, brow still furrowed. He stopped walking suddenly- and as though linked to him by a leash, so did Nico.  
>"Why didn't you tell anyone it was your birthday?"<p>

Will did not like Nico's explanations in the least, as displayed by the continued darkness of his normally emerald eyes; they stayed a violent shade of seaweed green the whole time, as cloudy as the Winter sky above.  
>Nico tried to explain that he hadn't celebrated it for years himself, so he didn't really care (in fact, he only counted it out of a desire to appear less like a child to Will); he told Will that it really was irrelevant, since technically he'd had been alive <em>almost ninety years<em>, that Hades wasn't big on parties, and that he didn't want anyone fussing over him. But Will's eyes stayed dark, and grew bleakly blacker with every repetition of Will's eternal refrain: "You don't _want _anyone to care. Stop lying!"

For the first morning ever, they hadn't chatted and laughed. Nico got on the bus by himself, feeling as though he'd woken up missing a limb. He felt black and out-of-sorts all day, culminating with him retreating to the bathroom during PE to shed a few tears before some entitled anger took over. Why was Will being so difficult? How hard was it to respect someone's wishes? He decided that he'd been spending too much time with the blonde, and that a nice long break would do them _both _good.

Two days of feeling discombobulated later, he came up the hill to see Will waiting once more- and this time, he _did _run to meet had his friend back by the time they reached the pavilion, and a much better day for it.

Will made Nico swear himself blue in the face that he wouldn't do something like that again, and just when Nico was beginning to get a little annoyed with the whole promise thing, Will had looked askance and mumbled that he"would_ like_ to care about Nico", if only he were allowed to.

_That_ had been fantasy fuel for days, for a boy in love. The birthday pound-cake and present of a whole box of Nico's favorite candy, Starbursts (Will appeared to have cleaned out every gas station and drug store in twenty miles, to fill the thing), had just been gravy on top.

What Nico noticed but didn't dare hope too much about, in this period, was how touchy Will had become. Noogies, playful headlocks, swiping at the boy's chin when he forgot crumbs there... Will seemed to be reaching out to Nico emotionally as well as physically.

Despite how much he fixated on any hope that Will might return his feelings, Nico discouraged himself from hoping until he could talk himself out of any sign that things might be changing. Even the breathy offer of "_I'll_ keep you warm" as they walked over to see the Big House's Christmas lights one night failed to set off any warning bells in Nico's head. As far as he was concerned, his heart couldn't be broken if he refused to plant false hopes in it- so no hope at all would protect him best.

Like not mentioning his birthday, however, this would eventually come to bite him in the ass.

* * *

><p>Christmas dinner at Camp wasn't much- but this wasn't a fair judgment, unless you knew that the magic plates could conjure whatever you liked on <em>any <em>day of the year. You could technically eat turkey and cranberry sauce all of March, if you liked; even his mother's _zeppoles, _which Nico had assumed were lost forever, could be conjured in the blink of an eye. So one day of eating delicious food, out of many, was just the same as any other. What the remaining campers _really_ went to dinner for was the company. Holidays could be the loneliest night of the year, for a demigod unfortunate enough to have no home to go back to. Christmas night without friends was just sadness incarnate.

A light snow was falling as Nico jogged out into the indigo night to meet his, waiting (as always) at the top of the slope that led down to the pavilion. Will's smile could have melted the slush around his (also as always) sandaled feet.

"Do you wear those out of protest?" Nico asked him, still fumbling with a pair of striped gloves Hazel had gotten him.

"How can I feel cold when _your_ sunny buns are around, Death Breath?" Will had replied. There was a strange look in his eyes tonight (Nico was reminded, uncomfortably, of _manias _trapped in their last prominent emotions from life.) Will was terribly easy to read. 'Wearing your heart on your sleeve' might as well have been his manifesto.

Luckily, Will swept away Nico's concerns (or ability to bring them up) by talking... almost the entire night.

Will just would not shut up this evening: even when he had a mouth full of turkey, he was still rambling on. Nico didn't mind, but again, it was unusual enough to make him take notice. They finished eating with the remaining Campers, played a few silly games for prizes, and laughed at the satyrs trying to sing carols.

When the party dispersed, Nico would even say _he_ was feeling a bit jolly.

Will was following him back to the Hades cabin (he'd said something about opening presents), and Nico was distracted enough by a full belly and a slight, sour worry that Will wouldn't like his new cake tins (he secretly liked to bake, and made an absolutely _incredible_ pound cake) that he almost didn't hear one of Will's many, rushed sentences:

"My first girlfriend and I used to spend Christmas Eve walking down Main Street, looking at all the lights. They're fantastic, back in my town..."

It was all Nico could do not to stop dead in his tracks. His delicious dinner churned, suddenly sour in his stomach. Never in all their time together had Will's past loves come up in conversation... Although it was stupid, Nico had just blithely refused to ask any leading questions, not really wanting to find out which gender Will preferred. He might not like the answer, after all.

Will, miraculously, had stopped talking. He was watching Nico intently now with those ghost eyes, seemingly waiting for a response. Nico met his piercing gaze for a moment, but looked immediately back at the snowy ground.

"Oh. Girlfriend," was all he could manage. Everything inside was twisting so painfully, he wasn't sure what to think-

"Yeah, but that was before I realized I didn't really prefer girls. My first boyfriend, Benji? Really showed me the way. I was much happier with him."

It seemed as though Nico's head had been put in a food processor set on Turbo. He looked back up; Will's devilishly handsome smile was slight, but definitely there. He still seemed to be assessing Nico's reactions, but not revealing any sentiments of his own. Was he assuming Nico would be unhappy, or judge him?-

"Ohh," Nico replied, feeling very much wrong-footed. "Boyfriend. Right. You like- guys," he blurted out, wanting to hit himself.

"Yeah, I like guys better." Will repeated, not frustrated at all. "Finally realized it when I was about fifteen."

More silence, feet-shuffling; Nico looking down at the ground

"When did _you_ know you were gay?," he asked Nico.

The ground cracked around Nico's shoes. Will jumped a little, but no skeletons had appeared yet, so he relaxed back into a casual slump. Nico couldn't believe he wasn't afraid- couldn't _believe_ he'd been asked-

"W-who said- _Did Jason tell you_?" he snarled, trying to keep his face even. His heart broke to even consider it, but if everyone at Camp found out, there was no telling what-

"Noooo," Will drawled, seeming confused. Then something seemed to strike him.  
>"Oh, wait, were you two- but I thought he was with Piper..."<p>

"No!" Nico shouted; the ground beneath him shifted, and he had to concentrate to repel the denizens of the Earth from responding to his emotions. "No, Jason isn't- he just- why would you- I'm not-!"

"Oh, aren't you?" Will asked, winking infuriatingly. "My gaydar is pretty good, Death Breath... That, and you just as much admitted Jason knows. It's alright, I know it's scary to admit it out loud... But Camp isn't a hostile place for us, so there's no need to jump out your skin like that."

Stuttering, Nico backed away from Will, who was now beginning to look a little concerned.

"Hey... it's okay," he murmured, reaching out for Nico's shoulder. Paralyzed by whirring thoughts and drawn in by the boy's hypnotically-compassionate voice, Nico let him.  
>He wanted to trust Will, but his body seemed to be betraying him. He couldn't even allow himself to be happy with the development, his chest was so tight. Will was right, he had to calm down...<p>

"That's it," the soothing, physician's voice said. "I'm not gonna judge you... Can't, really!"

"Wh... what is a 'gaydar'?" Nico breathed.

Will's laughter made a nearby tree empty of its contingent of fluffed-up birds. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve, as Nico tried to scuff snow over the cracks he'd made in the earth.

"It means I could just tell," Will explained, grinning broadly again. "Sometimes you just get a feeling about someone. You don't really know until you ask, of course, but I'm a pretty good guesser."

The thought of Will reading his mind still made him want to shake in his steel-toed boots, but he swallowed heavily, and asked the first question that came to mind:

"S-so who else at Camp is..."

"Gray from Hephaestus, Reiner from Ares, this one unclaimed kid named Rob, Mitchell from Aphrodite, and that Dakota guy from New Rome," Will prattled off. "Those are only the ones I _know, _mind, and just the guys. I'm still trying to figure out whether this one Hecate girl is gettin' with Drew from Aphrodite. Drew's bi, we all know that. And of course Butch is still a mystery..."

Nico's mouth must have been hanging open, because Will laughed and bumped him playfully on the chin to close it. _So many... _was all he could think. Nico had played Capture the Flag with some of those kids, and never would have known. And he had never guessed (or allowed himself to) about Will...

The blonde grinned down at him, amused by how impressed Nico was. He was probably making the same face he would if Will had whipped out a complete Mythomagic collection in a little binder.

"But yeah," he continued, seeming much less antsy now that he'd revealed himself. "I know Dakota's one of us because he asked me out last week. 'Roman weekend to remember', he said." Will grinned sideways at the thought.  
>"But I told him I had my eyes on someone, who probably wouldn't like me jetting off for fun-times in the <em>frigidarium."<em>

The words washed over Nico like black water; _someone_. He'd come so close, but Will was already taken.  
>It <em>had <em>been stupid to wish, but he just couldn't help it... He couldn't help how he felt. That alone was clear. And now things were going to be weird, because Nico certainly couldn't shake off his feelings, and oh it would be Percy all over again... Will probably went for big, strapping Ares' kids anyway, not scrawny little Hades brats like Nico...

Will's smile was painful to behold, now: so sure of his identity, so easily handsome.

"I like you a lot, Nico," he said.

"I have a lot of fun when we're together, and I think you do too... Plus you're pretty much the most adorable thing at Camp. I like being friends, but if I could be something else... Do you want to try going out together? Like dating?"

Something inside struck him like the released arm of cut onager, and made his knees buckle.

A resurrected skeleton cackled, under the ground. Will was grinning, his green eyes as deep as the lake, asking him to jump in... For so long, he'd dreamed of this moment.

But Nico didn't accept.

Instead of what he wanted to say, the dark-haired boy spat out an incomprehensible sound wrapped in a sob, realized how incredibly stupid he must look to the now stupefied blonde- and ran all the way to the Hades Cabin without looking back.

* * *

><p>He fell on the bed, nearly hyperventilating from both effort and panic.<p>

It was too much; it was wonderful and everything he wanted, but gods, it was all so much at once. So many feelings had assailed him at once, he wasn't sure how to handle them. Everything in him had been screaming "RUN!"- so he did.

On top of all the emotions rushing through him, guilt had now begun eating at him.

Where did he even start? Despite knowing nothing of asking someone out, Nico hated how Will had gone about it. As much as he loved- yes, _loved-_ that prat, he couldn't believe how it had all just tumbled out. Was he allowed to be picky? Should he just be grateful that Will would even consider him someone worth dating? Why now? Why him, of all people?

And deep down, he was terrified that it was all a trick. It was illogical, and he _knew _how illogical it was- but still, his heart felt like it was ramming through his ribcage with the fear of it. The fear of everything, really. He was without a doubt, 100% panicking- but damned if he knew how to shut it off.

He was so full of feelings that they couldn't all stay in; they were coming out as tears, and in the hoarse sobs he had just realized were his own.

For once, he wished the coffin-shaped beds were still in his cabin; he wanted to slam himself inside one and cut off everything that was making him feel this way. His head was screaming with anxiety.

He'd left Will out there in the cold, without an answer... Would he take it as a no? Would Will let him take it back? Another sob racked his taut, thin body, and Nico buried his head in hands.

Will walked in the door right then, snow blasting around his head like boread dandruff.

"You could knock!" Nico shrilled, at once stabbed by regret like an Imperial Gold blade- and helpless to control it, he sobbed again. It was like he couldn't translate the horrific blend of anxiety within him in any other way.

Will crossed the cabin in a few strides, dropped onto the bed in his snow-damp clothes, and wordlessly swept Nico against him.

Powerless, Nico sobbed into the wet shoulder of the older boy's coat. Slowly, very slowly, his tight muscles began to relax. He was embarrassed to be caught this way, but Will felt too good, too solid to let go of, when everything else was spinning. He was the only moor in the room, and Nico lay heavily against him for long minutes, his sobs petering out.

"I'm so sorry," Will finally said. Nico opened his eyes, but could see nothing.

"I really threw all that on you at once. I totally forgot where you came from, and that it wouldn't be easy admitting it... I'm so fucking sorry, Nico. That was really douche of me. I just-"

Everything was warm and brown, in Will's embrace. His words poured over the immobile boy like balm, trying to fill and heal the many, many cracks in one very broken son of Hades.

"I've just been wanting to tell you for a long time, now. I was trying to be cool, but it was all fucked up, I know... Gods, you must hate me now..."

Nico managed a small noise, and shook his head vehemently to make sure Will was aware.

"I- I don't," he murmured, feeling Will untense a bit at the words. "It was a lot to handle. B-but it's okay, I know. I know it's hard to- to get it just right."

He thought of all the times he'd wished he knew the right words to tell Percy...but always the fear, always the knowledge that he could never be Annabeth.

The fear of always being outside the warm circle of love: it could make you do some messed-up things.

"I like you too."

It was much easier now, to let the truth out. Showing his hand had been scary- but Will had made the first move, and it was one that put Nico in a very good place. Even the gods were on his side, perhaps, to have made all his fever-dreams come true: Will _was _attracted to him, and not shunning him for his feelings.

Now the joy came, like the warm content a bellyful of _zeppoles_ could bring.

"It's not a trick?" he asked, to excise the last feeble fear.

"Gods, no."

Was this what a spirit felt, when you finally sent it's lingering self on? Nico at least hoped it was.

With a final sniffle, he climbed out of the cage of Will's arms. Side by side, Nico looked up into the blonde's deep green eyes. A calculation went on there: an increasing of how much he loved this big tease, this imperfect but oh-so-bright son of Apollo, when he saw the honesty looking back at him.

"You're so cute when you're upset," Will said, finally grinning again. And Nico found himself mirroring him, allowing himself to even laugh a little.

"Oh, I take it back- you're _also_ cute when you smile," the doctor pronounced.  
>"You should do it more, you know? Then maybe Dakota would be asking <em>you <em>out for the weekend... Now how about we open presents? It's got to be after midnight by now..."

The sky outside was grey and forbidding- but in here, all was light.


	4. Nostra Famiglia

**A/N: I'm liking this twice-weekly-update business, so I think it'll continue- maybe one on Friday, one on Saturday, given current story traffic?  
>We're looking to have a few T-rated chapters yet, but you'll be getting your first M-rated one (with uncensored versions linked to my profile) on Saturday!<strong>

**Happy Halloween, and thanks to everyone who's liked and Followed!**

[This chapter rated: T]

* * *

><p>Sometimes, something just pushes you over the edge of wakefulness in the morning very swiftly, very softly. Nico opened his eyes right away, sensing something warm that wasn't <em>supposed <em>to be there...

Sure enough, Will Solace's sleeping face lay inches from his own, his lanky body curled so Nico lay enclosed between it and the wall. One bony cheek lay square on the edge of an algebra textbook, making Will look very like a cat who had curled up in Nico's study space and decided to nap there.

Warmth filled the son of Hades, and he couldn't help himself from smiling sleepily. It had to be early on Saturday morning, and he must have fallen asleep during Will's attempt to explain a certain math problem Nico had gotten wrong on his homework. That the son of Apollo hadn't tucked him in and gone home like a _normal_ person might have annoyed Nico a few weeks ago- but now he and Will were dating, and Nico's infatuation with him was at an all-time high.

He found it so sweet, both the gesture and this perfect, still moment. Soon the birds would wake, and all of Camp would come bustling to life- but for now, the light was gray and calm, and the only place that seemed to exist was this safe, warm circle in which he lay. The only thing he could see was Will's handsome face; the only sound for miles the whistling of his sleeping breath-

Nico lay a finger tentatively on the blonde's lips, wondering if he could kiss him lightly enough not to wake him...

And then a girl screamed, and a million things happened at once.

Will burst awake, shouting in kind; he surged forward, head-butting Nico straight in the face. Nico in turn yelped, his nose exploding with pain, as Will overbalanced in surprise and tilted backwards. He flailed over the side of the futon and hit the ground, one hand snagged in the comforter they'd been sleeping on top of. Books and papers fell with him, sheets of notes and print-outs exploding into the air. Nico sat up, clutching his face, and assessed two vital points.

First, the girl in the doorway was his shocked-looking sister, Hazel Levesque- who technically was supposed to be in New Rome right now, and Nico hadn't heard anything about a visit recently.

Second, Will wasn't wearing a shirt. Neither was Nico. Their clothes lay in a little heap by the bedside- though Will was now sprawled over them, not quite awake yet but highly startled.

"Whoozat?" he mumbled. An algebra print-out was stuck to his cheek, apparently by drool.

"Who is _that!?_" Hazel repeated, her gold eyes wide and luminous in the half-darkness. Her cinnamon-colored hair was frazzled into the severest case of Helmet Hair Nico had ever seen. She was wearing a traveling cloak over her SPQR garb, and somewhere in the distance, a golden horse was peering interestedly towards the doorway.

Hazel's visits had become much fewer and further between since her appointment as the head of Cohort Five. Nico had tried not to be bothered by this- after all, Hazel had her own life, her own home, and a praetor boyfriend to boot. Not seeing much of her had been hard, though... Will's company of late,however, had been distracting him from missing her. In fact, he wasn't sure if he'd remembered to tell her about the new addition to his life...

Which would explain the shock and dismay written all over her face.

"Hazel," Nico began, raising a hand. Oh gods, he didn't remember taking off his clothes last night- had Will _undressed him_? "Th- this isn't what it looks like-"

"No, it isn't!" Will parroted, jumping as best he could to his feet. "We totally weren't- like, you know-" he rambled, yanking the paper off his face and rubbing his bleary, sleep-crusted eyes.

"The clothes thing, Nico fell asleep in his and was too warm- his little cheeks were all flushy, so I took them off for him, and then I just got hot too-"

"WILL! Not helping!" Nico snarled.

"I'm just explaining why we're naked!" the blonde whined, stumbling a little as he turned back to Nico.

"F-forget that!" Hazel cried, although she clearly couldn't; she was averting her eyes from Will's shirtless form as though it were the ultimate form of a god, and fanning her face like she was about to explode (Nico knew the feeling- Will _was_ kind of hot, you know). "Why are you in _bed _with my broth-"

"I fell asleep doing homework!" Nico interrupted her. "Will was helping, and he just fell asleep too, it's not anything-"

"We only kissed a little!"

"_WILL!_"

Hazel really _did_ look like she was going to combust now- her cheeks were as red as Dakota's Kool-Aid stained mouth. "Oh my gods! I can't even- I'm going to- go somewhere, while you-"

Apparently unable to form a sentence, she shut the cabin door and sprinted off, a gust of cool morning air filling the cabin. It _was _warm in here...

The pair regarded one another for a long moment: Will clutching his chest hair stupidly, as though he'd been censoring it from Hazel's view, and Nico blushing with the fury of a nuclear reaction, looking as though he might cry.

"Gods," Will finally said, shaking his head sleepily. "Another 40's prude to convert to the Dark Side."

Nico threw his pillow at him, feeling not at all amused. In fact, he was chilled to the bone with fear...

* * *

><p>"She's ashamed of me," he finally explained. Not seeing Hazel at breakfast had only confirmed Nico's fears, and he had to let them out before they overwhelmed him.<p>

He and Will were sitting in the chilly, outdoor seating section of a cafe on Long Island Sound that same afternoon, two hot drinks between them. Excursions into the mortal world were much safer now that Gaea was asleep again (Nico had brought his sword anyway). And besides, a coffee date for two was at least below the threshold of monster-attracting danger. Nico was more afraid, in fact, of dates within the borders of Camp, for his own reasons...

Regarding the dark-haired boy over the rim of his chai latte with soy milk, Will was for once not being sarcastic. Unfortunately, when he got serious,Will was even hotter than usual- the thoughtfulness made his eyes greener and sharper, and the way he'd pensively scratch his fledgling goatee fuzz filled Nico with a strange urge to rub his face all over it. He liked Will with a little sandpaper on his cheeks, but today the blonde was clean-shaven save for a small bit on the chin. Worse, he was wearing the Imperial Gold glasses he used when reading gave him headaches, which gave him the look of a hipster-y student.

Nico himself probably looked like a scrawny goth- though the black around his eyes was a faint reminder of how he'd nearly died bringing the Athena Parthenos to Camp, rather than gratuitous makeup. His feet didn't quite touch the ground in the cafe chair, so he was left stupidly swinging his black leather shoes on air. He must look a little kid, he thought, compared to the smooth, scholarly-looking Will...

The fact that Will had refused to buy him a coffee didn't help, as a sticky brown mustache appeared on his upper lip each time he sipped his sugary hot chocolate.

Staring off into the distance, Will tapped his fingers on his cup. "I don't think so. I mean, I know she's from your time, so of course she'll feel weird for a while- but ashamed? Nah. She's your family, Nico, and she loves you."

"Not _real_ family," the paler murmured, looking at the ground. "I mean... you know what I mean-"

"She's not Bianca," Will finished for him, taking an angry sip.

"You know, all of us in this Olympian-god-parent mess ought to realize by now that it's not blood or... I don't know, who came out of your decapitated mother's neck or Zeus' brain with you that makes you family. All us campers are better family to one another than a lot of our mortal _or _godly ones. Blood doesn't mean anything, or Greek mythology would be a _lot_ tamer. It doesn't matter where she came from- Hazel's here _now_. You need to remember that, or you might make some serious mistakes."

Gods, he hated it when Will lectured him... Their ages might be irrelevant because of Nico's circumstances, but Will definitely had more experience with people and was better with words. Clutching his elbows against the cold, Nico felt very small and wronged- but he'd be damned if there was a rebuttal to what Will had just said.

Stupid sons of Apollo...

"Hey," Will interrupted, sensing Nico's blackening mood. His hand skirted over the table and closed around one of Nico's, drawing it back until they met in the middle. The son of Hades flinched, instantly worried about being spotted by someone they knew- but the street was empty, as most people knew better than to hang around outside on such a chilly, March afternoon.

"Sorry, Death Breath," he continued, one corner of his mouth turned up devilishly. "I just don't want you to mess up. I hate seeing you sad."

Nico twirled a straw wrapper absently, trying not to take comfort in the warmth of Will's hand. "I'll be _really_ sad if my sister can't accept who I am... I'm so happy now. I wish- I wish we didn't have to hide."

Will blinked, apparently taken aback. "Wait- why would we have to hide anything?"

Nico shrugged, unwilling to elaborate.

"We're not weird," Will said forcefully, gripping Nico's hand tighter.  
>"Is that why you don't let me kiss you goodbye in the morning? You don't want people to see? I thought it was just some 1940's thing about PDAs..."<p>

His tone bordered on anger, but Nico had no recourse. It was true: he was afraid to be seen, and had pushed Will's hands and face away a few times. Why couldn't this have just been a nice date, with no talk of serious things? Why did life (and godly prophecies, to mention past fiascos) always have to get in the way of Nico's happiness?

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

Will was stiff and silent for a few long moments- then he snatched the straw wrapper out of Nico's fingers playfully and gave the boy's pale, spidery hand a reassuring squeeze.

"It's okay," he said, smiling again. "No matter what I say, it's still a real change for you. But I'm right, Nico- and the sooner you realize that, the freer you'll feel."

"I just don't want... people to hate me. Us."

"Hey, nobody at Camp hates you... They're your family too, remember? In the end, different as we are, we know how to band together here. Nobody's gonna hate you for being open about your true self... and you've been doing a good job, too, being more social. Though the Aphrodite girls still think you're _sooo mysterious_~"

Nico smacked Will's hand when he trilled the last bit, grinning in spite of himself. Maybe Will was right. It was just scary to think of adding one more reason for people to think he was abnormal to the mix. But Will was good at pushing Nico past the barriers of his own fears- and frankly, he hadn't let him down yet...

As they strolled past the Athena Parthenos on the way home (following a small scuffle in which Will insisted on scrubbing the chocolate residue from Nico's face with a napkin), Nico decided to trust him.

He reached for Will's hand of his own accord, and held it firmly as they walked toward the central courtyard and back, through the lightly-falling snow, to the Hades cabin.

Will didn't draw attention to it, but his smile could been a beacon for ships at sea.

* * *

><p>There was red everywhere, when they opened the door.<p>

For a horrible moment Nico froze, thinking it was blood- but then the smell of turpentine washed over him, and he realized it was spilled paint.

"Hazel doing some decorating?" Will asked, eyebrows arched. Nico followed his gaze. The place appeared to be all decked out for a party. Hazel's bed had been turned up against the wall, and an odd collection of chairs and a folding card-table now cluttered the cabin. Strands of forlorn-looking tinsel, left over from Christmas, were scotch-taped to the walls in places, purple streamers were draped from the ceiling fan and shelves, and a long sheet of burlap hung over the far wall, a single word written in large, red letters on it:

_**FINALLY**_

Nico barely had time to take this in before Hazel's chattering voice circled up behind them. She entered the cabin looking backward, apparently conversing with someone behind her.

"I think it's a great idea," a male voice said eagerly.

"Thanks for helping. But I have to get this paint cleaned up before they get back toni-"

She froze in mid-stride, finally noticing Will and Nico in front of her. She was clutching to her chest a box full of magical plates and goblets, obviously lifted from the dining pavilion. Behind her loomed the tall form of Jason, blue eyes smiling behind his glasses.

"Oh, shoot!" she cursed, giving her brother a glare. "I was sure you two were getting dinner too. I thought I had more time..."

"Hazel," Nico stammered, feeling very wrong-footed. "What is... all this?"

"What do you think it is, silly?" Her dark cheeks, which Nico had taken to be flush from cold, pinkened now with happiness.

"It was _supposed _to be a surprise for you two... you know, to celebrate you getting together. Everyone probably already knows, but I- I wanted to show how happy I am about it. Piper, Jason, Leo and Calypso are coming... But I thought you'd be gone all day, so obviously it's not ready yet-"

Nico swept forward, cutting her off by hugging her until he feet left the ground. The box of magical cutlery fell to the ground as Hazel embraced him back, clearly understanding that something very deep was going on here.

"I thought-" Nico mumbled into her hair, "I thought you'd hate me. Especially after this morning-"

"Oh, this morning is going the way of Albania..." Hazel replied, her laughter like the tinkle of a wind-chime. "We're just not gonna talk about it. And _I'm_ going to Iris-Message before I come to visit, next time, so you can cover up. Will in his skivvies should _really_ be for your eyes only..."

"Word!" Will exclaimed, to Jason's amusement.

The siblings stood back and regarded each other for a moment: Nico taller, his eyes prickling with feeling, and Hazel smiling up contentedly, her eyes full of a love so natural, it made Nico's chest hurt.

"And I could never hate you," she added, as they all bent down to collect the runaway contents of her box. "You're my family."

Will winked pointedly at him, which made Nico want to punch him- and maybe kiss him a little, too.

* * *

><p>The Hades cabin was the apex of cool that evening, as far as Nico was concerned.<p>

Piper, Jason, the newly-returned Leo and his radiant girlfriend, and of course Will and Nico chilled in the assortment of chairs Hazel had collected, telling stories and laughing inordinately well into the night. At some point Twister came into the mix, and although it was corny and Hazel's decorating left a lot to be desired, Nico couldn't remember ever being happier. It felt strange to smile so much, as though his face needed to exercise more. He certainly got in a lot that night- and he clutched Will's hand for most of it, too, marveling like a child at how it made smiles pop up on the faces of those he cared for.

At some point they threw open the door, welcoming a breeze in the warm space. Other campers on their way back from dinner strolled past occasionally, looking in curiously at all the happy noise, and some had high-fives to offer Nico and Will at the sight of their entwined hands. Even the Aphrodite girls who mourned Nico being 'taken' had to admit that they made a cute couple- much to Nico's embarrassment and Will's raucous laughter.

When curfew was nigh, the friends said their goodbyes and headed to their respective cabins: Jason's arm around Piper's thin waist; Calypso punching Leo in the shoulder for some bad pun; Will pecking Nico on the forehead and murmuring, for the fifth time, "I _told _you so_! _Tell me I'm a genius. Go on._"_

A quick run to return the stolen plates, and it was time for bed; Hazel would have to set off for New Rome tomorrow, unfortunately, as the Legion needed her.

Hazel was well into stringing up her usual privacy curtains by the time Nico got back. He sat down, warming his hands by rubbing them against the legs of his jeans as she finished making the cabin look like a quarantine zone.

"You don't know how much that meant to me," he murmured.

"No problem," Hazel replied from behind the curtain. "It's about time someone made you happy... OH!"

The curtain slid back, and the ebony-skinned girl drew a small package from the front pocket of her overalls, which she held out to Nico.

"This is from Reyna. She told me to bring it to you."

Reyna. Nico hadn't been to New Rome yet, so the last he had seen of the girl he had bonded so closely with during their shadow travels had been their parting after the union of the camps. He hadn't even written her a letter yet- nor did Reyna seem the type to pour out friendly feelings in writing. Wondering what she could have to say, Nico pulled open the tightly-wrapped package.

A silver bracelet fell out, into his lap. It had a single, red-coral pendant strung along the chain, into which the symbol of Bellona had been carved.

There was no note- just a tiny scrawl on the inside of the wrapping itself.

"_If you ever need strength, press my mother's symbol. _

_P.S. Glad you found someone. Hope they deserve you."_

Nico felt his eyes stinging again. He pressed the bracelet to his heart, hoping that the carving worked as a two-way device and that Reyna could feel, so many miles away, his gratitude and ease of heart. He was finally, finally happy. If there was anyone he wanted to share that with, it was definitely her.

Her and _all _the friends in his family...


	5. Prima Notte

**A/N: And this is why I never make promises to readers. **

**Consume this fic (and the smutty, complete version, the link to which is now to be found on my profile) to quench your anger.**

**(Also, as one reviewer noted, Will actually has blue eyes in canon. I honestly forgot this- though perhaps I was subconsciously trying to distance him from Jason? Anyway, we're too far in to switch colors now, so you'll just have to forgive me...again. I'm so demanding.)**

[This chapter rated: M]

* * *

><p><em>Cerberus barked playfully, three heads tilting and three pink tongues the size of a man dangling slavishly.<em>

"_Not today, boy," Nico started to say. But then, remembering what he was about to go off and do, the bony little demigod seized the giant red ball and, cringing at the monster slobber that got on his hands, heaved the thing as far as he possibly could. The Underworld shook as Cerberus bounded after it, barking each time his massive paws hit the ground. _

_Nico grinned after him for a moment, slimy hands in the pockets of his aviator jacket, but set back to his walk with purpose. He wasn't here just to play Fetch with Hades' guard dog, after all. _

_The endless pit loomed, strangely magnetic the closer he walked. This place was his domain; Nico was certain he alone could climb down into Tartarus and return. The one who walked where no mortal could; the homeless boy who belonged to no Camp; he would finally do something in this battle, within and without the gods- something only a son of Hades might. _

_He was so wrong. _

_He hesitated for a moment, his toes hanging over the edge of everything. Too late, he was beginning to realize that he couldn't back away now if he tried. The pit was pulling him in, it was **breathing** and he was a particle on the wind, his life and soul being sucked in by the will of something so old and terrible-_

_He screamed, the breath torn from his body as he was pulled over the edge and began to fall into the infinite darkness, hands scrabbling on air eyes shut against the rusty sulphur the madness **Oh gods Dad Mammina Bianca Percy someone help me-**_

And suddenly the darkness was lifted, and his feet set down on solid ground.

Heart still screaming in his chest, Nico forced his eyes open. He was standing in front of a familiar cabin in the central square of Camp Half-Blood- a building that seemed to radiate peace from its purple walls. Nico was at once grateful and annoyed; he let the negative emotion take over out of habit, though. All he could manage, as riled as he felt inside, was a huff that sent his forlorn scruff of bangs flying.

"Frickin' Clovis," he muttered. "Can't dream for a thousand miles without getting sucked in by him."

"At least he's not dreaming about spanking Lou Ellen again...", a voice behind Nico observed. "That was a weird one."

Still in a state of fear, Nico whirled with swordsman's speed on his heel; Will just laughed. He was standing in Nico's dream casually, hands in his pajama pant's pockets and the same devilish smile as ever on his face.

If Nico had been secretly grateful to be ripped from his nightmare of Tartarus, he was moreso to feel the comforting presence of the guy he was dating- even if it was just an astral image. He concentrated on Will's presence, glad that his racing heart was now the fault of love rather than fear.

"Poor guy," Nico noted, sliding his eyes up into the green haven of Will's. "It's hard enough to keep secrets from a godly parent... Clovis' nastiest dreams are basically there for every sleeping person to see."

His own smile still felt alien, but the more he tried it, the better he got at it...and the more Will smiled back. Like he was now, glowing with tendrils of Mist from the force of Nico's emotions.

"I'd feel for him more if I hadn't seen the Cowboy dream," Will replied, making a face. Nico had to stop himself from giggling (gods, what _had _this guy done to him?)

"Can't say I'm not happy to see you, Death Breath, but I _was_ having a pretty good dream before I got sucked into Clovis-Land."

"Oh?" Nico asked, eager to not have to talk about his own.

"Oh yes," Will drawled, scratching the goatee that was slowly coming in on his scruffy chin.  
>"It involved you, me, and my hands somewhere on you that your little 1930's face will turn <em>briigghhtt <em>red to think of-"

"Ohh!" Nico stammered, scandalized. He must have fulfilled Will's prediction, because the blonde burst into hearty guffaws and sideswiped Nico's attempt to smack him on the arm.

"M-moron! Anyone could have heard that!"

Will seemed to delight in embarassing Nico, now that they were officially an item. His mind had taken a strange turn for the perverted (or had it always been there?), and mentioning sex at least once an interaction to delight in Nico's blushing was now his greatest hobby. The strange thing was, Nico didn't find this behavior antagonistic. On the contrary, Will's teasing had opened doors Nico had thought were long closed, allowing him to talk about his feelings, his sexuality, and even the stupid mistakes he'd made in trying to get Percy to like him, which still taunted him at night.  
>It was strangely healing to share those memories, especially with someone who openly cared about him... He hadn't had that in a long time.<p>

And besides, those were clearly the better doors to dwell on.

He was smiling, in spite of himself. It was hard to look at Will and keep yourself from doing so. But apparently this wasn't enough to mask the pall dreaming of The Pit had cast over him, because Will's next question was: "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Nico murmured, trying to look convincing.

"Fail," Will responded, crossing his arms. "The nightmare about being naked in Gym class again?"

"No," the smaller of the pair responded, inwardly grousing at Will for bringing that up. "About... I don't really want to talk about it," he stammered.

He wished he hadn't, because Will's amused look fell away the way it did when a serious emergency walked into his healer's tent. Nico could see him going into diagnostic mode, scanning him for symptoms of unease. He would try to help... and the truth was, sometimes that annoyed Nico. Sometimes he just needed some time to himself, to figure things out. Which was _not _in this case a healthcare plan approved by his doctor.

"I'm coming over," Will stated.  
>He turned on his heel and seemed to spin out of the dream, leaving an apparated vacuum into the space where Nico was feebly calling, "No, it's past curfew and I'm <em>fine, <em>really-" But Will was already gone.

* * *

><p>Grumbling, Nico set to trying to wake himself up. He at least had to rouse himself long enough to shrilly whisper death threats through the door crack at Will, to make him go home before the curfew Harpies spotted him. Problem was, since his adventures in shadow-travelling with Reyna and the Athena Parthenos, Nico slept harder than ever. Will had once promised to cover him in whipped cream and set Ms. O'Leary on him while he snoozed, sure it wouldn't even make him twitch... It was plausible, and for this reason alone Nico was glad cameras couldn't survive the magical aura of Camp. God knows what dirt the Stolls would have on everyone, if they could...<p>

He managed to pull on a shirt and pair of jeans from the dirty laundry pile just as a hearty knock swung against the Hades' cabin door (loud enough, he was sure, to wake the dead- or at least a few Harpies). Grumbling as he stumbled across the cold floor, hands tucked into his armpits for warmth, Nico flung open the door and prepared to swear a bit.

He was lifted off his feet at once and pulled into Will's embrace, as the blonde drew him in for full-on kiss. The tightness in his scrawny body evaporated, and against his will, Nico sighed with pleasure into their locked lips. The last residual fear from his dream now dissolved, leaving only the warm giddiness that came from the heat of another body against yours. Three months in, and it still felt like the first kiss sometimes...

Will broke it off halfway through this thought, though, and sidled into the room.

"Let me in. Gotta watch out for the Harpies, you know," he teased. "Such a demanding date, you are..."

Nico just sighed, trying not to grin.

Will hoofed it over to Nico's bed, which had long been replaced by a Wal-Mart futon couch. The Hades cabin was transformed: no longer did it resemble the crypt of Edward Cullen (that was that vampire-guy all the girls liked, wasn't it?). Will's weekend efforts at helping him paint and removing the Victorian-style furniture- interrupted by many kisses, of course- had at least rendered the place more modern in appearance, and certainly more inviting.

Only the blue-flame candelabras and torches remained on the walls, as Nico was rather fond of them. Perhaps the decorators hadn't been _entirely _wrong about children of Hades after all...

Most welcoming of all, though, was the sight of an adorable, infuriating Son of Apollo sitting in the midst of it.

Making himself comfortable, Will sidled up along the headboard like he owned the place and threw out an arm, gesturing for Nico to come inhabit the space against him. Shuddering a bit from the cold gust Will had brought in, Nico hurried into it gladly.

"So what was it about?" Will continued, apparently unshaken that their conversation had begun in another plane. Nico screwed up his face, but knew this wouldn't deter the guy at all.

"I told you, I don't want to talk about it. Now." He had to add that, because Will still took anything Nico held out on telling him as an insult to their relationship. Nico wasn't the only one who had things to learn about trust, apparently.

"Maybe later," he cut the blonde off with, crossing his arms and trying to look like he would march dead people all over Will's face if he pushed it. Apparently it sunk in, because Will's mouth went flat and he nodded, looking a little shell-shocked.

_Ha, _Nico thought. _I __**am **__getting through to him, the lumox..._

"But if I were to tickle you, maybe it would come out?"

… _Oh, schist. _

Will's hands were upon him immediately. Stupidly, Nico fell flat and tried to squirm away, his brain already under the influence of the sensation. Damn him for falling for Will's many questions: _What's your favorite color? Pepperoni or ham? Where are you ticklish? _His Achille's Heel revealed, and Will would never forget it...

Physician's fingers, smooth and always a little redolent of antiseptic, found the tender niches of Nico's body like they were laser-guided: fluttering behind his knees, and up the washboard of his ribs.

"You're so skinny," his captor noted for the zillionth time. Nico was in no place to respond, but instead allowed his mouth to finally crack open. Laughter- musical and so much younger than he tried to be- poured from him. Will's smile when he heard it glinted like Imperial Gold in the semi-darkness.

Intent on holding down his victim, Will crawled on top of the boy and sat on his legs. Still almost screaming with mirth, Nico now began to feel some discomfort. Will was awfully close to him, and in a much different way than ever before...

Before he could help it, something quickened and Nico forced his way up, no longer laughing. Will of course let him, and sat staring at the boy's back, giving it what Nico could feel was his worried, diagnostician's look.

"I'm sorry..." Will started, knowing he'd made Nico uncomfortable. "I just-"

"It's fine," Nico affirmed a little too quickly, hugging his forearms to his chest. He was concentrating on willing the feeling in his groin to go away.

Three months, and Will Solace hadn't so much as made it to third base. And that was Nico's doing. Will would never complain, or force him to do something he wasn't comfortable with... besides high school, self-help and bed rest, of course. Nico just couldn't get over the physical nature of his affection for Will; it scared him, the heady rush of feelings he got when Will lingered too close for too long. He accustomed that rush with the adrenaline of battle, or the whirl of panic in his head; when it happened his instinct was to draw away. It made him think silly things, and filled him with stupid doubts... In spite of knowing Will preferred guys, in spite of the fact that Will had been with other guys before, Nico was just too scared that somehow _he_ would mess that up; _he _would be too gross to contemplate, too scrawny and lanky and still-pubescent. He was afraid if Will saw him naked, or even close to it, he'd change his mind about their relationship.

"Can we sit back like we were?," a strangely forlorn voice asked from behind him.

Nico nodded, and slid stiffly back into the crook of Will's arm. The pair sat in silence for a long while: Nico staring straight ahead, arms still crossed, and Will contemplating his own lap like it held the answer to this awkwardness between them.

"Are you scared of me?"

Nico hesitated. No. In a way, yes. But it was more himself he feared. How did he put that into words?

"I mean, yes and no. I- I think it's actually _me _I'm scared of."

… Well, that was easy.

Will nodded as though he understood. His eyes were still glued to his lap.

"Maybe... maybe it's scary to let go? Living in the moment is probably hard, when you're used to keeping everyone away."

In spite of himself, something was stirring in Nico's lap- something hotter than all the wrath of Hades, and sweeter, more irresistible than Underworld pomegranates…

"I..." he started, "I really like you, Will. And I want-t to... b-but I'm..."

"Hey, it's okay." Nico's hand was swept up, sandwiched between Will's and held beside of the blonde's scratchy, stubbly cheek. His skin was so warm and so very real. No ghosts or illusions in him- only Nico's ghosts, holding him back from what every part of him really wanted.

"We do things on your time," he promised. "I want to do _plenty_, don't get me wrong- but not until you're ready."

When he was sincere, Will's eyes crinkled in the corners. They drew Nico in like a reverse-Tartarus: a black hole of summer green, festive and overflowing with love, support. Sincerity.

"Ten minutes or ten months... when you're ready, I'll be waiting. You're so worth it, Death Boy. And you're damn cute, too."

"No," he stammered, "I mean..."  
>Something heady, hot, filled Nico's head.<p>

A few seconds pause at the precipice, hanging over the edge- and he let himself fall.

Lost in their private summer, he kissed Will back without embarrassment. His hand clenched against the older boy's chest, and Will combed his hands through Nico's dark curls with unabashed hunger. He was done being afraid; he pushed himself forward, laying the whole of himself against Will- especially the part of his groin that always threatened to give away his desires.

The time for secrets was past.

Like the longest swim of his life, Nico surfaced and went beneath the heady waves again and again, time of no instance. It could have gone on for days, these peaks of feeling: he was too busy absorbing them, too busy lashing them back at Will (gods, Will, the one who had finally brought him out- the one who wasn't ashamed-), and reveling in the feel of those cool, hungry hands all over him...

They'd drifted downwards, feeling him like a blind man sculpts something with his hands to make it real in his mind. He sat now, arms around Will's neck, watching the face that was watching those hands fumble with the button of his jeans. There was an urgency in the face he knew and loved, now; a hunger so blatant and flattering that he couldn't remember why he'd even been afraid in the first place. The person he loved was looking at _him _that way... The thought made him giddier than ever, and the room was already clouding...

Will's deft fingers made it through, and wormed their way through the next layer of cloth. When he reached his goal, Nico shuddered a little. This was the first time anyone had touched him, and it'd happened so fast, Will attacking his mouth and caressing his back-

When Will leaned his forehead against Nico's shoulder, he could hear him breathing heavily.

"You sure?" he breathed.

"Yeah," Nico breathed back. _More than ever. _

And the world ended there, with just them.

**[CUT OFF]**

* * *

><p><strong>[CUT BACK]<strong>

"Eat a lot of fruit, do you?"

… Nico couldn't have thought of a less romantic thing to say if he'd tried. He was beginning to come back to earth (still shaking a little- was it possible to cum too hard?) when Will fell abruptly backwards, slamming his head against Nico's pillows like he'd lost control of his body.

"Heuuugggghhhh," he sighed, eyes shut.

"Are- are you okay?" Nico found himself asking, clambering to Will's side worriedly. Great- just great. His first time having a sexual encounter, and he'd broken his partner. Was some vengeful god in on this too? … Wait. Could the gods peep in on any mortals _any time-_

"M'okay," Will mumbled, sounding slightly out of it. "Heyhey, watch it!-"

Nico had nearly put his knee through Will's crotch, in his hurry to get to his side. Positioning himself carefully despite the trembling in his arms, he leaned close over Will's face, trying to remember any kind of CPR or medical help in case Will passed out-

And then he noticed the dark, wet spot soaking through Will's pajama pants, and the plaid lint caught between the nails of his right hand.

"Y-you just..."

"You were havin' fun, " the blonde answered, his voice sing-song with exhaustion. "An' you were so fuckin' sexy, all cute and going 'ooo'..."  
>Here he made what Nico <em>sincerely<em> hoped was a bad approximation of his 'O' face- something like a baboon with a toothache. Certainly didn't look very boner-worthy to him...

"Didn't wanna- interrupt. Just took care of it m'self." Will finished, gesturing to his cummy lap and sighing like speaking took an enormous effort.

"Can we rest now?"

Nico blinked a few times, digesting this all- but yes, then he did feel like resting, in fact, and lay down beside the lanky, tanned form of his tuckered-out boyfriend.

They breathed in tune for a minute, Nico drinking in every curve of Will's handsome face like it was about to disappear, and Will resolutely lying flat on his back, eyes shut tight and arms limp at his sides.

"S'fun?" the blonde asked at length, his breath finally evening.

"Yeah," Nico mumbled. Will wasn't looking, but he was smiling- stupidly and giddily, as though his face couldn't refuse the glee in his heart. He felt like a kid who'd just been given free reign in a candy store- not tired in the least.

"Thassgood," Will replied in that funny tone. "Sleep now."

"Okay."

"Do it again later."

"S-seriously!?"

"Yeah..." Now Will opened one eye. Around his head, blonde hair curled like the mane of reclining lion- and true to form, the smile to match was that of a gleeful predator.

"Next is my turn, after all."

* * *

><p>After Nico put out the blue candle-flames, Will let him rest his night-black head on the span of his grassy chest. The son of Apollo fell asleep almost instantly... but Nico was up a little while longer, listening to the doctor's heartbeat, instead of the other way around.<p>

The presence of Will Solace made an excellent dream catcher, as it happened.


	6. Ribellione

**A/N: These chapters are getting longer and more ambitious! Shame that it's corresponded with a drop in views/favs/follows. :(**

**To bait you back (and because this one's only rated T), I'm gonna try for another double-update.**

**From now on, I'll be attempting to censor the M ones by rewriting sections instead of cutting material. Remember, you can find those at the link on my profile.**

[This chapter rated: T+]

* * *

><p>"So you take it like this... No, it'll get all over if you do it like that. There you go."<p>

"This doesn't feel right..."

"You'll feel great afterward, trust me. Might burn a little at first, though. Now put it in."

"How deep is it supposed to- OWW!"

"Oh, don't be a baby- you're fine."

"Well _excuse_ me if I'm not in the habit of putting things up there..."

"Centaur shit! I saw you digging around in there the other night!"

"What!? You lying _graecus_, I never-"

"Oh, spare us! If it can handle your finger, it can handle this... Now come on, do I need to do it _for you?"_

"Maybe you should- just the first time..."

"Okay. Just keep breathing in, and swallow as soon as I'm done."

Nico tilted his head back, braced himself, and allowed Will to do the unthinkable.

In seconds, he was coughing like he'd just gotten a faceful of the sulfurous breath of Tartarus. Per Will's orders, he kept staring at the obsidian ceiling of the Hades cabin even as burning salt washed down the back of his throat and threatened to make him gag. Reflexive tears burned in the corners of his eyes. But then-

"... Oh, wow."

Standing on tip-toes over him with what looked like a tiny watering can, Will glanced down at his boyfriend and smirked.

"Told you," the healer said with smug finality. "A salt rinse is _way _better for the type of cold you have. Doesn't your throat feel better? And you don't like a Fury anymore."

Snorking a dribble of salt water, Nico tried to stay mad but couldn't. He'd literally been to Hell and back before, but even a son of Hades could occasionally contract a cold worth lying down and whining about. There wasn't much ambrosia could do for a sore throat and congestion, unfortunately- which meant a healer with mortal knowledge (even if it was mortal knowledge of pouring salt water down someone's nose) came in doubly useful 'round these parts.

And that healer was all Nico's, even when the Camp clinic closed for the day.

"I do _not _pick my nose," the black-clad boy grumbled, eyebrows knit with mock anger

"Of course not." Will rushed, smiling evilly. "No way you're going to school today, Death Breath, so march that pale ass of yours back to bed."

Nico was fully expecting a pinch on that pale ass when he stood up- but instead turned to find the older teen staring through the rounded windows of the cabin with the haunted look of a shade.

"Will?" he asked, stepping unabashedly out of his skinny jeans. A week of messing around with Will (and more importantly, certain parts of Will) had stripped Nico of his bodily shame faster than you can say "Pluto's pauldrons".

The blonde turned around quickly, but couldn't eclipse the look of confused sadness on his face with the same speed. When he turned, Nico could see what he'd been staring at: the Big House.

"Are you okay?" Nico asked, ducking out of the day's black t-shirt slower than usual, as though trying to charm Will out of his sadness with the emerging sight of his stomach.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah." His smile indicated otherwise (Will had more telling smiles than Nico had black articles of clothing).

"Just, you know, thinkin' about life. And about how Chiron just told me I'm not head of Apollo anymore."

"_WHAT?"_

Nico dropped onto the bed, his jaw nearly following. What could Chiron possibly be thinking? Will was a _fantastic _head counselor. Obvious biases of preference aside, Nico couldn't think of anyone better to show a new, scared demigod around than his easy, personable boyfriend. All his cabin-mates loved him. He even got along with _MR. D_, for gods' sake! What more could you ask of a guy!?

Will continued to grin as Nico told him precisely this, but it wasn't his usual smile: this one was cold, as though it were concealing a painful, embarrassing truth.

"I know," Will mumbled, staring at the great, blue house once more. Even his green eyes seemed lighter, false- nearly mint-colored with the smile had washed from them. "It sucks. It really really sucks. But I was just thinking, maybe it was time to-"

"Did he bother to give a _reason_ for kicking his best counselor ever to the curb?" Nico snarled. The pained silence following this, however, washed his anger with a touch of fear.

"Oh gods- is it me?"

Will shrugged and wouldn't meet his eyes, which told Nico all he needed to know.

"Is it because we're-"

"No, no!" Will was quick to affirm. No way was Chiron a homophobe. "He just- he said I'm not a very good example, you know. Sneaking over here at night. A pun about playing doctor was had."

"Minotaur balls," Nico swore. The strength of his emotions was strange to him, to be sure, but he was actually _angry _for Will right now. Once or twice he'd bemoaned having to give 'their' time up so Will could help a camper or settle a new kid in, and maybe even acted a little sour over it- but Will loved what he did, and that was enough to make Nico willing to fight for it.

This colorful swear apparently cheered Will up a bit, because he put his arms around the glaring son of Hades and shook him playfully.

"Hey," he said consolingly. "If I had to choose you or a responsibility, I'd always pick you. Always." There was enough sincerity in those words, in his eyes, to make Nico's throat hurt again- but this time tight with emotion.

"And besides, now we're free to act as immorally as we please!"

The heat of his gaze told Nico that a few immoral activities were crossing his mind at that moment, trying to distract him from the loss...

He let himself be kissed, but also allowed a small flame of resistance to smolder within him. Somehow, someway, he'd convince Chiron to give Will the counselorship back.

… As soon as he got over this cold and out from underneath Will, that is.

* * *

><p>When Nico woke up, a few hours had passed; it was well past lunchtime, his throat was starting to hurt again, and Will was nowhere to be seen. Clambering up, he pulled on the morning's discarded school clothes and decided he felt well enough to go get a grilled cheese sandwich and some tea.<p>

Alecto the Fury was waiting for him at the top of the hill, holding just that.

Nico stiffened for a moment, but made himself continue walking towards her. The Furies had always given him the heebie-jeebies in their real forms, and Alecto wasn't trying very hard to look human: her old-woman veneer had too many bat-like aspects, from her long, thin fingers to her huge, pointed ears.

"Son of Master requires nourishment for the trip," she coughed, sounding like she gargled sand for a hobby. Yuck- had he _really _sounded that bad?

"How did you get into Camp?" he asked, trying to keep his voice even as he took the plate and tea cup from her scabby, disgusting hands.

"Ohoh," she laughed, yellow eyes lighting up. "Alecto brings the Son a treat, to replace the one he has lost."

Having heard many foreboding prophecies in his life, Nico's blood ran cold.

On that spine-chilling note, however, the Fury was content to depart, lifting straight off the ground with her huge, batty wings. Nico was pretty sure a scab had fallen on his sandwich as she did.

For sending a creepy old woman to deliver his food, he intended to burn it on the altar to Hades back in the cabin.

He was stumping back from whence he had come when he realized the door was ajar. The hair on his neck stood up. Had his dad heard him, and upped the creep ante as a way of saying _"Don't even think about it!"_?

Luckily, no one (or thing) was hiding inside. Nico checked all the closets to make sure. The only thing that was different, he suddenly saw, was a scrap of parchment held shut by a dollop of midnight-purple wax on his bedside table. Breaking it, he noted a skull-face had been pressed into it, like a seal.

"_Join us for dinner tonight, or face my wrath."_

Three guesses who'd sent it.

* * *

><p>Under the brown, misery-filled sky of the Underworld, Nico came stomping into the skeletal back garden and slammed the finger-bone gate behind him so hard a few knuckles displaced themselves.<p>

'Garden' was really an overstatement, in his mind. Persephone's pomegranate tree was the only normal plant for miles, but the jewel-flowers of the Underworld seemed to eat it's light rather than reflect it- as though the darkness from which they'd been born couldn't comprehend the qualities of real brightness.

Pissed off, his throat stinging, Nico stomped through the kitchen, into the throne room- and stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted Will, standing warily beside a bored-looking Hades.

"Dad, _what the hell!_?" Nico cried, all irony lost in his rage. "You _KILLED_ my boyfriend!?"

"Oh, calm yourself," Hades snarled, black eyebrows knitting (he seemed to have been expecting a different reaction, but reverted to anger swiftly). He was wearing his Helm of Darkness, which was radiating a fear that was so strong it was almost visible, and his special robe woven from hand-tortured souls- a very welcoming ensemble to greet guests in.

"I had Thanatos take him through the Gate of Orpheus," the king of the Underworld continued dismissively, "so that his precious little soul could still return. I go to the trouble of being so thoughtful, and this is the thanks I get?"

"Thoughtful!?" Nico snarled. "You could have killed him! How did you even know we were dating?"

"I _am_ a god, thank you," Hades sniffed, reminding Nico of the horrible thought he'd had on his and Will's first night together: _Could the gods see us screwing around?_

As much as Nico was boiling over with rage (and genuine fear that his father had watched him getting a handjob), his primary concern was for Will, whose teeth were chattering from a combination of Hades' horrible aura and the chill of the Underworld. This was not even r_emotely_ how Nico had wished him to meet his family... the optimum way being 'never'.

He was filled with the urge to run over, kick his father in the shins, and shadow-travel Will out of here as fast as possible- but being sick had sapped Nico's strength. Just the once had been enough to make his head swim.

To make matters worse, Persephone now came bustling out of the kitchen, her auburn hair braided over one shoulder and a gardening apron tied over the front of her tunic. She'd apparently been on the other side of the yard, planting more jewel flowers, and come over to view the commotion Nico was making.

"What are _you _doing here?" the son of Hades snarled, before remembering that Long Island was still buried in snow despite it being nearly March. Winter was staying late this year- and thus Hades' bride.

"Three more weeks" she said, attempting to smile at Nico despite his curtness. "Then you get your Spring, up there. Tell your mortal weathermen that." It had always seemed to him that she'd never really liked him, but she'd definitely been making an effort since Hades' chat with him in the chapel last year. She was smiling right now... but something about it still felt hollow, cold.

"Don't mind your father- I made sure he didn't murder Will here. Such a nice boy he is..." She pinched Will's cheek good-naturedly, which didn't change the son of Apollo's terrified, skydiver's smile one bit.

"Husband, take _off_ that damnable crown- you're scaring the poor boy silly!"

The god harrumphed- then seemed to notice Will's soul slipping out of his body beside him.

"Oh," he said, and stored the thorny crown soundlessly within his rippling suit of wailing spirits.

Will glanced over at Nico as though his knees were about to go out. He kept smiling bravely, though, with all his teeth showing.  
>Only when Nico drew close enough for him to whisper, as Hades beckoned them all to the dining room, did he let slip one sentence that let Nico know he was still, in spite of getting an aerial view of the Underworld:<p>

"Thanatos was kind of hot."

Nico punched him in the arm, and then grasped his hand tightly. They'd face the family dinner from Hell together, if it was the last thing they did.

* * *

><p>Under any other circumstances, Nico might have been pleased to have been invited to visit his divine family. Hades' meeting him in the bony chapel had meant more to him than he could alliterate at the time... more than he ever could, really, because he still wasn't that great at heart-to-heart conversations with his godly parent. Especially when his throat was hurting like a motherfucker.<p>

If Hades had been expecting one of those, kidnapping Nico's boyfriend had been a bad way to start things off. The most exchange he felt like having now was a quick "Sayonara", to be honest.

He might have meant well, but Nico sometimes wondered, as now, if they would ever truly understand one another. Moments like the chapel, they meant the world... but when father and son inhabited different ones, could their hearts ever truly line up?  
>How could they have dinner together normally, when Nico no longer belonged entirely to the dark?<p>

He sat down in the huge, black thrones of dining-chairs in Hades' banquet hall anyway, and allowed a grimacing ghoul to serve him a silver platter of mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, and baked eggplant soufflé. Pure-gold cups held scoops of pomegranate ice cream, for dessert, and the platinum chalices glittered deep aubergine from the wine within.  
>Sighing, he speared the overcooked souffle with a ruby-encrusted fork, and set to carving into it with a butter knife that had a handle of pure emerald.<p>

From the glint in Will's eye when he saw the cutlery, Nico gathered he'd forgotten to mention his father was also the god of wealth.

"Don't eat anything with pomegranates," he whispered to him, "or you'll never be able to leave."

"Not to worry!" Persephone piped, snagging Will by the elbow and dragging his massive, black-teak chair closer to hers. "We imported them, so they're safe!"

"All these vegetables," Hades grimaced, speaking over all of them. "I'm a god, not a mortal rabbit! What we need..."

At his musing, a zombie in moldering tailcoat rushed in, bearing a half-a-cow's worth of baby-back ribs. He crashed a helping onto everyone's plates but Persephone's, who was glaring. Will's eyes grew bigger and shinier still.

"Hades, I told you," she shrilled, "we are going _vegan-"_

"_Much_ better," the god sighed over her, ignoring the soufflé-splattered zombie who was mindlessly hovering at his elbow and attempting to serve him more carrots. Persephone sniffed pointedly.

"You'll have to excuse my husband," she said, seemingly speaking to Will. "His cruelties are best fed by tortured animals, who died _in innocence_ to feed his _horrible_ whims!"

"Damn you, woman!' Hades snarled from the end of the table, waving a rib at her. "You can see torture from your balcony, but as long as it's not a cow or a lamb!... I'll eat whatever I want, and none of your grousing will stop me! Women..." He addressed the end of his sentence in a whisper to Nico, as though seeking sympathy.

"Like I'd know...since I have _a boyfriend you kidnapped,_" Nico growled, stabbing his potatoes with undue fury. "You could have _asked _us to come, you know. Asking is generally better than forcing."

Hades' mouth flopped like a fish- and yet he didn't strike Nico down. In fact, as he went back to his ribs with a troubled look on his face, Nico wondered if he'd struck a chord somewhere.

_Nah. Not likely. _

But still, that expression...

"So, Will," Persephone began, down at her end of the table. "How did you and Nico meet? I can't imagine why you'd be attracted to such a dark boy..."

Will snarfed down another mouthful of ribs, which even Nico had to admit tasted... well, divine. He wouldn't have minded a taste of the barbecue sauce on Will's cheek, either (gods, he was adorable). Persephone seemed to think so too, and waited, beaming, for him to swallow.

"Well," the blonde parsed carefully, seeming to chew on his words. "I guess the same reason you're attracted to the Big Cheese down there."

"Oh, cheese!" Hades carried on, apparently missing the implied insult. "That would make this potato mess _much_ better. Lefty! The catoblepas cheddar- the 1612 vintage!" he called, and the zombie-servant rushed off to retrieve it.  
>Apparently the Underworld had a cheese cellar- who knew?<p>

"I'm _not_ attracted to him," Persephone sniffed at Will, throwing her auburn plait over her shoulder and turning up her nose. "This is an age-old agreement, my being here. I wouldn't stay married to him the whole year if you paid me!"

"And I couldn't handle twelve months of your damned vegetables!" Hades called back, allowing Lefty to shave delicate pieces of a cheese onto his plate; the stuff smelled as close as you could get to imagining Tartarus' farts without going insane.

"Here, Nico, have some protein... It's good for growing mortals. _You're _not mad at me all the time_..._"

He usually was, actually- but in the sliver of a moment before the cheese hit Nico's food, he could have sworn he saw a human expression pass across his father's visage... something human, and something lonely. It was a searching look- a gaze that scanned the depths of Nico in search of some hint of the woman who had borne him. The last person Hades had truly...

_Oh, dad..._ Nico thought, with a horrible pang. The schizophrenic tilt of the conversation, the love and the dismissal- a millennium of life, all the riches in the world, and any material object you could desire, and _still_ Hades couldn't be happy. Everyone always wondered, why were the gods always stirring up trouble? Why did they need and want humans, if all the power in the world was literally theirs?

What was missing struck him so, at that moment, that his annoyance was replaced with a terrible wrenching of guilt for his immortal father.

_You don't even remember what it's like to love someone, do you? _

Looking down the table at Will, who was now making Persephone exude a golden aura of amusement, something inside Nico swelled with a gratefulness so strong, it brought tears to his eyes.

Or maybe it was just the catoblepas cheese.

* * *

><p>"That. Wow."<p>

"Oh, I imagine she'll want to invite you back," Nico assured Will as they barged through the door of the Hades cabin well after dark. Hades had finger-snapped them back to terra firma easily, though many hours had still passed. The grilled cheese sandwich sat, nearly frozen, on the corner of the altar.

_I'll burn you some barbecue later_, _Dad,_ Nico thought, feeling pity wash over him as he threw the thing away.

Will seemed winded but excited, his gaze as far-off as it had been this afternoon- though it was pleasant now, and his eyes were summer-green with delight again. Which in turn delighted Nico.

"I was expecting that to be horrible," Will mused, plopping down on the bed. "And it was. But you know- your step-mom isn't bad."

"She's bad for my dad," Nico thought aloud, nestling next to his boyfriend. "And he for her. Don't you think it's... kind of sad, the way they are?"

Will shrugged. "You kind of can't feel bad for gods, Nico... They make their own misery."

"Yeah, but..." He tried to puzzle out just how his father's searching gaze had made him feel- how it had made him feel for him, the man who had technically given him life; the man who wasn't a man, who cared even though he didn't quite know how. Will wasn't close to Apollo, the way he and Hades had been in that dark, dank chapel. Will couldn't understand.

"I kind of thought they were like us, at first," he mumbled. "You know, in personality. But there's something missing."

"Yeah," Will said, as though it were obvious and unpainful. "There's no love there."

Nico's heart shuddered as Will confirmed it.  
>He couldn't fix his father... even if he wished, for a moment at an ebony dinner table beneath the earth, that he could.<p>

_Let's never be that way, okay?_

... Also, had Will just said the L-word?

Seeming to sense Nico's feelings, Will put an arms around him.

"Your throat must hurt," he said after a long while, patting Nico's elbow awkwardly. "I'll get the netti-pot. And then maybe I'll stick something _else _in you..."

The sadness had to disappear, when Will was there: Will with his golden light, glowing in the dark of Nico, like a persistent pomegranate tree.

As Will prattled off to get the sinus-watering-can, though, a raven appeared at the rounded window of the cabin, black against the sky-blue reflection of the lit-up big house.

There was a parchment sealed with purple wax clasped in its beak.

* * *

><p>Nico marched up onto the porch the next day, his steel-toed boots clunking. Chiron couldn't have failed to hear them, but the centaur kept his eyes on the bow he was examining.<p>

"Ah- hello Nico," he said good-naturedly. But Nico could still hear something off in the cheery turn of tone. Nico was thankful that it was his intentions rather than his presence producing such a reaction, and decided to cut right to the point.

"Will was the best counselor you had," the son of Hades tried not to growl.  
><em>Diplomacy,<em> he thought. _We're going for diplomacy here. _Or as Will described it: "You're the boss, but you can't say it outright."

Chiron turned from his fletching to take in the sight of the boy; Nico hoped he looked formidable, like someone to listen to. It was hard to feel that way when his nose was level with the point where Chiron's horse-half met his human torso. The centaur was _literally _looking down on him- though because it was Chiron, Nico knew he'd refrain from doing that metaphorically. As a mortal, he had strengths even the immortal Chiron didn't- and that, as the letter had said, was his strength.

"Will has deliberately disobeyed Camp rules," Chiron began, but Nico could hear the sadness in his voice. "I cannot in good faith reinstate him as a counselor, if he's going to encourage precocious sexuality."

"Well, I tried," Nico said- and he slithered off the porch, trying to contain his grin.

* * *

><p>The evening's event spread like invisible wildfire, right beneath Chiron's nose (snout?). A camp full of teenagers was <em>rife <em>for rebellion, and by dinner that evening, all the supports for a revolution were in place...

Everyone was eating dinner normally, at their normal tables, when it began.

Piper and Jason had volunteered, straight out of hand, to fuel the rebellion. They stood up, and from opposite ends of the dining pavilion, they strolled towards one another. All eyes fell on them; conversations halted. Near the hearth of Hestia they met, and Jason swept an arm around her.

Then they began to make out furiously, hands straying where they ought not, in front of the gods and everyone. That was the signal.

Suddenly the dining pavilion was literally _full _of demigods pairing up, smooching with libidinous abandon, dry-humping and swinging around, falling all over one another (sometimes in threes). Clarisse LaRue and Chris were Frenching right in the thick of things; Grover swung Juniper in circles; even Clovis got a peck on the cheek from a forgiving Aphrodite girl.  
>From the high table for the teachers, Chiron was looking down on a T-rated love-in... one which was threatening to creep into M-territory rather quickly.<p>

Nico could see, as Will kissed down his neck, Chiron first look around for the haze of an aura. No, it _wasn't _a trick by Aphrodite, or the madness of Dionysus (Mr. D looked too shell-shocked at the sheer scale of rampant sexuality to use any of his powers, frankly).

Stammering, the centaur leapt from the table and snatched up a Stoll in each hand, who had had their own hands full of Hephaestus-babe breasts.

"Stop this immediately!" the centaur roared. "_Mr. D!_"

Unfortunately, Chiron's back-up was merely smiling down at the whole mess of wriggling bodies, looking as smug as only a wine dude could.

"Sorry, Charlie," the pudgy god muttered, opening his hand to reveal a single red rose- the one Persephone had given Nico years ago, which when crushed would provide instant transport to anywhere.

"I'm going to make my _own_ madness with Ariadne for the night, courtesy of our friend from the Underworld." His evil smile could have left Will's in the dust. "You've been sold out!"

And just to underscore it, before he crushed the flower and disappeared, cackling, in a flower-scented cloud of smoke, Mr. D threw his sun-hat into the crowd and shouted with the force of a god:  
>"<em><strong>Party on, demigods!<strong>_"

Chiron was left standing flank-deep in the midst of an oncoming orgy, glaring across the barbecue pit at Nico. Finally, after a few moments of contemplating the sky (he appeared to be murmuring, "Why me?"), the bearded man addressed his squirming, sweaty charges. Phase Two, shedding clothes, was slowly coming underway.

"I suppose the reinstatement of a certain counselor will end this?", the bearded guardian shouted.

"YES!" the entire pavilion cheered as one. Will squeezed Nico around the waist, as though not daring to express his joy yet.

"... And I suppose you're all the children of gods who do it all the time, _and _you're only human, so it's only natural?"

"YES!" Nico had to give the old horse credit; he'd anticipated the very argument anyone who might be singled out for punishment had been told to counter with.

Chiron glared at him once more before rolling his eyes so hard his face nearly dislocated:

"Alright, ALRIGHT, you can have Solace back!  
><em>BUT THE CURFEW HARPIES ARE STILL ON PAYROLL!<em>"

The entire camp exploded, shirts flying and happiness echoing up into the constellations- and the Apollo cabin was the loudest of all, as they hefted Will up into the air and carried him away cheering. He and Nico were pulled apart in the resulting joy (half the participants were nearly-naked, by now), but the golden look of thankfulness in his eyes was better than a touch any day.

Left standing in the center of the screaming masses, Nico now smiled up at Chiron. And the old centaur couldn't help but smile back.

Nico had always been a bold fighter- but not all battles went down by the sword. Some were fought in words. Some were in the heart.

"_Nico, _

_We will never be a normal family, and I can never be the kind of father you need. We both know this. _

_But if we could pretend sometimes, it would ease my pain. _

_Mortal lives may be fleeting and short, but the love you experience during it burns brighter for it. Sometimes I think I would trade godhood, to be able to love the way you can._

_Take good care of Will. Be the exception._

_-Your father"_

And some... some were as foreign as a watering can up the nose, and as painful as dinner with your immortal family. But they made things better, in the end.


	7. Maiali e Caramelle

**A/N: Congratulations, we have an M-rater that will pass the standards! No need to go to Tumblr this week. I'm backing up chapters there, however, so you'll soon be able to find _LaoI_ there if you so wish.**

**I only intended the series to include 8 oneshots, so we've one more week of feels!**

[This chapter rated: M]

* * *

><p>7:26 p.m on a Saturday night. The Kroger grocery store located four miles from Half-Blood Hill has everything a demigod could possibly find themselves in need of: food, household items, toiletries, cleaning supplies, an entire aisle of candy... and a little golden statue with whom Nico diAngelo was currently engaged in a staring contest with.<p>

Perhaps his indecision had invoked him. Perhaps there was some kind of ritual that involved pacing past the object of that indecision three times. For whatever unholy reason, a six-inch tall statuette of a pure-gold man that hadn't been there the first two times had appeared on the rack beside the box Nico had been eyeing since he and Will had arrived, come to pick up some Doritos and Dr. Pepper for movie night. As a demigod, unusual happenings in themselves didn't tend to unhinge Nico; it was instead the instant surety, the knowledge communicated wordlessly between them as they first met eyes, that the tiny man knew exactly what Nico was planning.

"It's definitely your choice," one of the statue's heads, the one looking left, pronounced.

"Yessirreebob," the right-facing one affirmed, stroking his full, metal beard. "Disaster, or ecstasy... it could go either way."

Nico swallowed loudly, and glanced around to make sure no one was watching. Any mortals picking up Midol wouldn't notice, of course- but a very important demigod to his decision was aisles of shelving away, whistling and trying to decide what kind of dip to get.

Janus stretched his arms out and cracked his idol knuckles, with tinny pops resulting. Nico continued to stand there silently, basket of snacks clutched in front of him and desperation in his eyes. He didn't like the idea of "disaster" being associated with his decision to make this most telling of purchases.

"I thought Hecate was the goddess of crossroads," he said suspiciously.

"Eh," Janus replied, shrugging. "This is a personal matter. You probably prefer a guy's advice, amiright?"

If he _had_ to discuss his sex life with any divine being (and apparently he now did), then yes, this was true. Against his better judgment, he whispered one of his reasons to the little god, as if hoping for advice.

"I mean, it's always good to have some on hand. Just in case."

"Of course!" Janus' left head replied. "Wouldn't want anything to sneak up on you, would you?"

Nico cheered, in spite of himself; he'd been musing for days on this subject, and it was nice to be able to tell someone about it. Even if he probably looked like a total psycho through the Mist, apparently talking to the "Men's Health" shelving.

"And, and I'm pretty sure he wants to," the tousle-haired boy mumbled, his toes curling at the idea.

"Oh, of course! You know him best, lover boy!" the left Janus replied, flashing Nico a thumbs-up. "Just make sure you're sure, or-"

"KABOOM!" the right head shouted, smiling manically. "Relationship over! Shattered hopes blasting shrapnel right through your heart, ripping trails in your very flesh-"

"Okay, you are _way_ too gleeful about that prospect," Left Janus chided.

As dumb as he sounded, Nico had a weakness for stalling on emotional action unless he was completely sure he would come out safe. It had started with Percy, and how deceiving him had torn his twelve year-old heart apart after the fact. Nico didn't want any more reasons to lie awake at night, fingernails cutting into his flesh as he tried to will the obsessive shame away... As much as he treasured what he and Will had, caution in matters of the relationship was paramount.  
>Just the thought of their relationship being over made Nico feel like he was hovering over Tartarus' precipice again.<p>

But Janus Left was right: Nico knew his lover better than anyone. He knew Will was sincere, and that he was wearying of leading. He knew Will would always let him decide on his own time, but also that the blonde was only human, and he too had desires...

More than this, Nico knew his own heart and body- and knew that both of them were ready for this. His nervousness was nothing more than excitement, tinged with the same, stupid fear that made him hesitate to let people in in the first place.

No more hesitating on happiness.

Both of Janus' heads winked at him, intoning "Eyyy!" supportively as Nico snatched the offending box up and buried it under some chips in his shopping basket. Almost before he could finish, one cheery son of Apollo's head appeared around the end of the aisle.

"Got everything? Then hurry up, pokey puppy!" Will chided, his ponytail whipping out behind him as he headed for check-out. Shaking off the weirdness of his encounter with the god of beginnings, Nico hefted his red plastic basket and set off after his boyfriend.

Reassuringly, the Trojan soldier on the box's label winked at him during the bagging process.

* * *

><p>Up from a shadow cast by the blue flames of the candelabras, the pair oozed into being in the middle of the Hades cabin. Will was carrying so many plastic bags that he resembled a strange Christmas tree made of groceries; three bags hung from each elbow, and even one between his teeth<p>

"I told you, I could have gone back for them...", a much-less-encumbered Nico said coolly.

"N- never!" Will roared, stumbling over to the table and divesting himself with great clangings of dropped cans and bottles. "It's Man Code... Always one trip. ALWAYS. And you're not allowed to travel more than once a day, remember?"

Bristling, Nico plopped down, to recline and watch Will dig for certain snacks. He'd bought so many things to make Nico try, after a conversation about mortal foods they missed revealing that Nico hadn't consumed much junk food at all since arriving in the twenty-first century.

Reeses Pieces, Funyuns, white cheddar popcorn, Coco Puffs- Will planned on making him eat them all, which had lead Nico to remark that Will wasn't allowed to dump him if he got fat before all those treats got eaten through.

Will had replied that a fat Nico would at least have a less-bony butt for him to molest, and Nico had had to punch him out of bliss. Funny how even horndog words could be as sweet as a whispered "I Love You".

Nico surreptitiously removed his secret purchase while Will was pouring Blue Ranch Doritos and onion dip into a bowl, and hid it between the wall and the bed. He'd hoped to get to take one out and examine it first, but it was always possible he'd have to find out tonight, depending on how much of a movie-watching mood Will was in...

"Put those condoms on the nightstand and stop trying to be sneaky, Death Breath."

Nico froze, his mouth hanging comically open. "How did you-"

"I know you," the blonde replied simply, glasses low on his nose and eyes both twinkling and smoldering over the tops of them. "_And_ you were pacing the medical section like a catoblepas with colic, looking over your shoulder every two seconds to make sure I wasn't watching. Not hard to figure, really."

He swept over and laid a kiss on the boy's forehead as their DVD started, and handed him a plate full of every comforting, sugary food Will had tasted in the last eighteen years.

"Some fancy dinner," Nico pronounced, eyeing his Twizzlers warily.

"Only the best in empty calories for _my_ sweet," Will replied with aplomb. "Now shut up, the movie's starting."

Bristling at the word 'sweet', Nico selected a dusty honey-barbeque potato chip, nestled against Will's cuddly side... and proceeded not to be able to hold still. He hadn't realized how much he'd really been expecting to use those condoms tonight; he'd kind of psyched himself out. But Will of course had completely hijacked the evening, insistent on eating his precious junk food and watching whatever movie this was.

"Pay attention," Will scolded, swatting Nico's hand away as it wandered toward the crack in the bed and its contingent of condoms. The act was so sudden, so severe, that Nico found himself giving pause.

This was, unfortunately, one of the things Nico disliked about Will: he could be pretty commandeering sometimes. Maybe it was only natural for him to take the lead, as Nico was so new to every aspect of being with someone- but how was a guy supposed to assert himself when his lover subconsciously tried to control everything they did together?

Unbidden, memories of times he'd felt annoyed with Will's bossiness began to bubble up in his mind: refusing to buy him a coffee on their last date because "Caffiene was bad for kids"; holding him by the belt-loop and rushing into the bathroom first; griping at Nico over every little shadow-travel he made without Will to supervise.

"You're not watchinggg," Will noted, his voice weedly with disapproval.

The son of Hades needing a shadow-travel chaperone? Nuh-uh, that was _too_ far... Nico had been all over and under the world without Will, and would teleport wherever he pleased _whenever he pleased, thank you very much. _And yet in the moment, Nico had just smiled the annoyance away, assuring himself that Will's behavior was just catty and coy. If he said something, after all, Will would just get mad, and that wouldn't be any good.

No, it was better to keep quiet, to love all the parts of him... wasn't it?

Meeting Janus in the health aisle, however, seemed to have opened Nico's eyes to multiple paths; he _was _a god of crossroads and choices, after all. Maybe Nico needed to make the choice of regaining his autonomy, rather than always acquiescing to Will.

What if he chose to stop paying attention to this movie, with its bad actors and even worse lighting, and go examine that box of condoms, like he _really_ wanted to?

_Yeah,_ Nico thought, reaching for the condoms. _I can't lose myself in him. _

Will said nothing as he grabbed the condom box for the second time, but Nico thought he saw a shadow of surrender pass briefly over his handsome features.

_Ha_, he thought. _See, Nico?  
>A little assertiveness won't make him up and leave. <em>

Grinning in challenge, Nico busied himself with opening the box of Trojans and examining the contents. He'd never seen a condom before, and tore one off the strip to hold up to the light.

"... It seems awfully big," he pronounced, knowing he was being distracting. "Your penis isn't _that_ round, is it?"

"Check and see," Will challenged, thrusting his clothed groin in Nico's direction without looking away from the movie. He was so spiritless that Nico didn't even laugh- he just resumed examining the single, plastic-wrapped rubber.

"99.9 percent effective at preventing pregnancy," he read off idly.

"Oh thank goodness. I was really concerned," Will groused, sounding more annoyed. He clearly wanted to say something, but Nico defiantly set about opening the tiny, metallic pouch. It was harder to tear than he'd expected, but when it did fall open, a genuine squawk of disgust issued from the other side of the bed.

"It's SLIMY," Nico wailed, holding his hands out like they were infected. "Are they supposed to be that way?"

"No, that means you got a used one by accident."

Will grinned, but it was as clear as day that it meant: _Two can play at this game._

_Fine,_ the son of Hades sniffed mentally, after a moment of doubt as to whether or not Will was lying (he had to be... didn't he?).

Defiantly, Nico continued playing with the condom: unfurling it, stretching it, pinching the little nib at the top. With his dark-ringed eyes, he looked like a little raccoon playing with something he'd found in the woods. He figured out how to make it produce annoying, rubbery sounds when stretched, and set about doing repeatedly, as an act of retaliation.

When he glanced over to gauge Will's reaction, a sudden moan from the laptop made him twist back to regard, for the first time in several minutes, the actual content of the movie.

His jaw dropped. Right there on the flashing screen were two buck-naked, clean-shaven men who looked to be about in their twenties, one of whom was dark of hair and getting down on his knees. The film moved in to focus on the bucking head of the first guy as he sucked up and down the length of the other's huge, erect... gods, that thing was huge! Nico could see every vein in the guy's shaft, and the glistening trail of saliva that hung between the giver's lips and the bulbous, pink head of the moaning receiver's cock, as the dark-haired giver moved down and seemed to vacuum the other's massive testicles into his mouth. A hearty moan rent the air from the tinny speakers- why was the volume so high? The other campers might hear-

"W-w-Will!" Nico exclaimed- but try as he might, he couldn't take his eyes off the movie, especially as the first actor returned to deep-throating his moaning partner (that was _way_ bigger than he'd ever expected a penis to be... What god did you have to appease to get _that _kind of blessing?)

"Amazing, right?" Will observed, his voice almost misty. "That's Cristian Diomio, my favorite porn star. Take three guesses at who he looks like, go on."

Cristian was obviously Hispanic and sported a sick six-pack of abs- but there was something in his dark, wispy hair, delicate features, and deep, black eyes that Nico recognized right off the bat. Oh, gods...

"Y-you watch this because that guy looks like _me?"_ he asked incredulously, all annoyance and war temporarily forgotten as his eyes remained glued to the screen.

"Yeah," Will gushed, sounding inert but still very enamored.

They watched avidly together, now: Will with a sopophorous grin on his slack face, and Nico threatening to turn cherry-red as the content grew more heated. Only when the red-headed guy began thrusting deep into Cristian's throat was Nico shaken from his stupor.

"If someone did that to me, I'd probably throw up. I gag over everything."

"Not me," Will said dreamily. "Comes with the blood-and-guts doctor thing. You could stick nine inches of pure, fat cock down me, and I wouldn't make a peep."

In spite of himself, Nico swallowed loudly. He could almost imagine how Will's mouth, so soft and cavernous when they tongued one another, would feel around his own swollen head- if it _were_ swollen, that is.

Nico looked down at his lap.  
>Scratch that- it was.<p>

The room was heating up awfully quickly- or was it just him? Probably just him. Beads of sweat were gathering on the back of his neck, and he could feel his skin growing flushed. What was the point of this, anyway? Why did Will want to show him this replacement for him, this guy he'd presumably watched be violated in every way possible, wishing it were Nico instead? What did that mean?

Will moved in so close, and so quickly, as the son of Hades thought this, that his scratchy, golden cheek stubble sent a shock straight down the whole of Nico's spine.

"Want me to suck you?" he murmured breathlessly, the words so low that Nico turned into a tuning fork, vibrating from within at the lust in them.

Will's hand clamped over the now-obvious bulge in Nico's jeans, and massaged the spot with aching slowness. A _yes_ caught, strangled, in Nico's throat. _Yes, I would like to be making the noises your laptop is, Will. Yes yes yes- _

Before Nico even finished nodding, Will had set upon the clasp of his pants, and practically picked the son of Hades up in his haste to tear them off. There was such a wolfish hunger in his eyes for the half-second Nico had to observe them- the half-second before Will clamped his mouth around his length and seemed to suck all the air from the room, out of Nico's lungs in a squeal of pleasure.

It felt incredible- was incredible, seeing Will's bobbing blonde head and luscious, pink lips enclosed around the most familiar part of him, dragging up around down the long, sensitive rib. His tongue twiddled somewhere just below his head with every stroke, and the more he repeated it the more Nico felt like he was about to absolutely shatter with pleasure.

… But those eyes weren't right. This predatory, domineering feel of being taken wasn't right, nails curling into his back and teeth scraping him. It wasn't _Will_, he realized with a pang: Will who talked him through new feelings, Will who cuddled him like he was trying to shut out all the pain of the world with his own body; the Will who had kissed him so tenderly the first time, knowing Nico had been scared and needed him to control himself...

This wasn't attractive any more; it was a little scary.

"S-s-stop," Nico said, his voice stronger than he'd expected. His eyes were itching, as though about to tear up. Will merely opened one eye and slowed his tongue movements agonizingly.

"Stop!" He was shouting now, pushing against Will's forehead until he let go, crossing his legs protectively as he sat back up.

"Turn that off," Nico snarled, pointing an accusatory finger at the reverberating laptop.  
>"I don't want porn for my first time- I- I want <em>you, <em>you idiot!"

The words had fired themselves; Nico didn't know where they'd come from, as confused and cloudly-headed with arousal as he felt. He was shaking, he now realized- from rage or love, he didn't know, but he kept his accusatory finger pointed at the screaming, moaning laptop now depicting the actors deep in the act.

He expected Will to yell at him; his face broiled for a moment, and Nico squared himself, waiting for the onslaught. He expected Will to laugh at him: a dumb, scrawny kid with his pants around his ankles, entitled and angsty, telling _him_ what to do... But that didn't happen.

Something worse did.

Will regarded him for a long moment, his face and posture sobering, and then reached over to turn off the porno. This done, he stood up and began walking for the door of the Hades cabin.

"Wait-" Nico started, fumbling with his belt. "Where are you going!?"

"Out," Will snarled, snatching at the door handle like he wanted to injure it with one hand and wrenching his discarded coat over his shoulders with the other.

Terror crested over Nico; he was leaving, he was angry, what if it was over now, because he'd done that-

"W-wait! Will!" He shrieked the last part, scrabbling up and after the blonde- but to no avail, for his tall form was already disappearing into the swirling darkness outside.

Nico hovered in the doorway for the count of ten. _Disaster,_ Janus had said-_ kaboom, shrapnel, shattered hopes. _Nico's warmth and peace of mind shattered like the icicles still clinging to the edge of the cabin roofs. What if Will didn't come back?

And then he lunged after him into the darkness, refusing to let that happen.

* * *

><p>"Will!" he shouted, the sound almost completely drowned out by a wind so strong that it seemed to be snatching the breath from him. He didn't have shoes on, and there was still frost on the ground; he of course hadn't grabbed a coat, and the wind was doing battle above like someone had unleashed the Boreads on camp (Talk about a boner cure...)<br>The icy air was nothing compared to the cold fear coursing through him. Janus' words thundered with the tattoo of warm blood in his ears: _Relationship over. Disaster, disaster, disaster..._

"WILL!" Now he was screaming, over both the wind and the panic climbing up his throat.

"**_WILL!"_**

"I'm over here, Death Breath. Calm down."

He'd almost walked right past the son of Apollo. Will was leaning up against the side of the Hades cabin with a hand clamped over his forehead, staring out at the distant roar of the Sound's ice-reamed waves.

Nico was seized by the urge to hug him- but something about him was as taut as a bowstring, quivering and ready to fly off, that he refrained. Instead he stood stupidly in his shirtsleeves, trying to ignore how every gust of wind felt like a bucket of ice-cold water spilling over him from head to toe.

"You're mad," he observed pointlessly, trying his awkward best to draw Will out. Now Nico realized what felt so weird about this situation: Will wasn't the storming-off type. _He _was... and now their roles had reversed.

"Yeah," Will grunted after a moment, keeping his eyes on the water. "Not at you, though- that's what you're worried about, right?"

Nico nodded- but then realized Will wasn't even looking in his direction. Another long moment, and Will shifted uncomfortably and continued.

"I fucked things up again, Nico. I'm sorry."

"A little, yeah," the younger sighed, biting his lip. "I know you were just... I mean, porn is a n-normal thing now."

"But not for you," Will cut him off. "You looked so scared, for a minute- it made me feel like... like a monster. Like I was hurting you. I've never been with someone who was so-"

The word died on the air. Nico scrabbled his hands up and down his forearms, trying to stay warm. His bare feet felt they'd been immersed in a tub full of sharp needles. But it didn't matter- Nico knew first-hand that when someone ran, they were doing it because they wanted to be followed and reassured.

No one had been left to follow him when he'd fled Camp, and look how that had turned out.

_Will is never going to feel like the way I did_, he scolded his feet. _Not as long as he's mine. _

"I know it's hard... But I'm t-trying. And you're n-not a monster. I promise."

This was inadequate to make Will untense.

"I l-love you, d-d-dummy."

At that moment Will turned around, his summer-green eyes like bottomless, swirling wells of Mist, waiting to form into some kind of emotion. He blinked down at Nico, his throat seemingly full- and then jumped back in horror.

"_Nico, you're gonna freeze your ass off!_" he shrilled, taking in the shivering form of his boyfriend. "Why didn't you put on shoes or a coat!?"

"B-because you w-were l-l-leaving!" Nico was now in full-on shiver mode, his teeth threatening to chatter if he stopped talking. "W-w-what if you n-n-never came b-b-back-k-k?"

"Idiot!" Will growled- but he also rushed forward and snatched Nico against him like an errant child, sandwiching the son of Hades between his deliciously-warm jacket and chest. Nico hopped up onto his shoes instinctively, perching atop them the way a backwards baby penguin might.

Instead of running to the cabin, they stood there for a long few seconds. Nico was trying to regain feeling in his nose by burying it in Will's chest, but could feel those deep green eyes on him without even looking.

"You could catch a cold, moron."

"You s-said colds don't actually have anything to do with the t-temperature..."

"I'm not worth getting sick over," Will growled back, his chest rumbling against Nico's face. There was a lot behind those words, and Nico could practically taste the sadness he knew so well in them: _I'm not worth it. I'm not right for you. I don't deserve your love. _

_You sound just like I did_, Nico thought.

"Yes, you are," he promised into Will's sweater, just loud enough to carry over the wind.

Will clutched him tighter, swaying on the spot, and Nico let him, knowing he needed it. That was what love was: being there for whatever the other needed, whether it was a hug or just to be pursued and told, "You matter to me. Even when you mess up."

Under a sleet sky, the two boys' circles closed at the ends. And then the flying pig appeared.

* * *

><p>Will was thrown off his feet when the pig screamed, and Nico fell down on top of him to the frozen ground. The massive wings of the creature flapped with the force of hurricane gales as it set sights, shrieking mass-murder and bloodlust, on the rectangle of cabins below.<p>

"What the actual FUCK-"

"It's the Crommyonian Sow!" Nico yelled, clambering to his feet with the ease of a fighter. "I saw it during the Titan War!" _Disaster, disaster_, his brain pounded.

"How the hell did it get into Camp!?" Will shouted, scrambling to get back up. Adrenaline pumped through Nico now, erasing the numbness and cold. He groped at his side for his Stygian iron blade- but of course came up empty.

"Will, my sword!" he shouted, nearly falling over again when the pig thundered down on top of the Hebe cabin, flattening it to toothpicks. Thank the gods it wasn't summer and no one had been inside...

_Kaboom._

Rage boiled up in Nico; he had to protect Will, as well as the rest of Camp- He bolted back for the door of the Hades cabin, turning his back on the pig, certain he could reach his blade.

He was wrong. Faster than a grungy boar should have been able to, the sow's tomato-red eye zeroed in on him and, with an unholy scream of bloodlust, the monster lunged after him. Nico couldn't dodge in time on the slippery ground, and was caught on the shoulder by the toe of one of its massive man-sized front hooves. He went down with hands outstretched, clawing at the ground.

"NICO!" It was the first time Nico had heard real fear in the son of Apollo's voice.

As soon as his palms smacked the ground, inky blackness splashed up around them and Nico's tendrils of darkness shot deep, deep into the earth. Almost instantly, he knew he was in trouble; the ground was frozen and packed, and the corpses beneath rattled in frustration. They wouldn't be able to break through-

Nico twisted underneath the sow, coming face to face with her scratched, saliva-splattered snout. Tusks as tall as he was glittered in the dim light with spittle as the sow roared, about to taste blood after the long, painful crawl back up from the stomach of Tartarus. There was no way Chiron or Mister D could get here in time, or even Clarisse, who Nico was sure slept in her armor in case of threat-

Yelling to split the heavens, Will came running from the side and lunged at the pig's face. Nico wanted to scream at him- didn't he know he was unarmed, did he have a death wish?_- _but instead, steaming blood spattered the snow and the pig rent the Winter air with an enraged cry of pain.  
>As it tumbled sideways, Nico slid free of biting range and saw, as he whipped around, the glint of Celestial bronze flashing in Will's hands as he stabbed crazily at every inch of the pig that he could. His eyes were hazel with some kind of pale fire: a sound and a fury that Nico had never imagined he would see in the calm, laid-back son of Apollo.<p>

He didn't have time to contemplate this, though; hoping Will could hold it off, he hurled back to the cabin and snatched up his night-black sword from the umbrella stand in the doorway.

The sow's head was rolling halfway down to the dining pavilion, leaving a river of ichor in its wake, within seconds.

Panting, Nico sheathed his sword and considered Will, who hadn't abated in his assault on the pig until it had begun to disintegrate before them. They were both breathing heavily, and studied one another for a long moment. Then, as though the event had never happened, Will seized Nico bodily and lifted him up into his arms, bridal-style.

"That's what happens when the Harpies go South for the winter," he grumbled, close and heaving with adrenaline.  
>His forehead was cut, and threatening to drip blood into his fiery green eyes.<br>"No ugly faces to keep the monsters at bay."

"You had it under control," Nico mumbled, looking deep into those fires, wishing he could nestle in their warmth and burn forever in the heat of... was feeling was it that he was looking at?

"Fucking Athena Parthenos doesn't cover pork-related intrusions, I guess."

The handful of campers left were beginning to emerge from their cabins- including a spitting-mad Clarisse, bedecked in her blood-red armor and swinging her electric staff at the last semblance of the dissolving pig's head as though cursing it for dying so quickly. Seeing none of them, Will strode back towards the Hades cabin, Nico held aloft.

"I didn't know you carried weapons," Nico stammered, looking into Will's face as though it were a scrying dish, waiting to see if that blazing look resurfaced.

"I had some old scalpels in this pocket I forgot to throw away," Will said, shuddering slightly. "If I had... if I hadn't grabbed this sweater, you might not..."

Will's head dipped as though he were about to cry; his arms buckled but stayed strong beneath him. Nico hadn't realized that he'd been afraid. The way he had swept in had been so brave, slashing at the pig as though it had threatened his whole world...

Was he afraid for Nico?

As soon as the cabin door shut behind them, Will pulled Nico's face against his and kissed him, longer and harder than ever before. All Will's fear, his courage- Nico took all of that in through his lips, knowing that it was all to reassure him. _It's alright- I'm here, _he said, without words and without judgment. Piper was right: fear and love were closer emotions than most people suspected- and you had to share _both_ with the person you were meant for.

They broke, but Will burrowed his forehead against Nico's, as though he were trying to drown himself in the boy's presence.

"I love you too, moron," he whispered, the breath of it hot on Nico's lips.  
>"Running out in the cold like that... Saving my sorry ass. I love you, Nico diAngelo. And don't you <em>ever <em>scare me like that again."

"It was the pig's fault-" Nico wanted to explain... but he was too busy taking Will by the hands and leading him towards the bed, hypnotized by the pale fire of passion in those bottomless eyes.

_They're not my crossroads anymore... they're ours. And we choose ecstasy,_ he thought to himself, as Will fell on him with a different, right kind of hunger.

_We choose love._ _Not fear. _


	8. Se Sono Caduto

**A/N: Alright, ladies and gents, it's here: the final chapter! The Author's Note will be a little long, as such, but hear me out.**

**First: I apologize for not updating over the holidays, when you all would have had more time to read, but things got a little crazy here with visiting family and sickness, as well as obviously-depressing national events. **

**It's been a hard couple of months, to tell the truth: this fic came about not just out of fandom feels, but as a way to find a little self-esteem and escape from the pressures of both school and breaking up from my first relationship. My anxiety issues mean that the only way to keep from falling apart is to keep busy, and during the hardest hours of loneliness, writing about a wonderful couple going through all the trials and joys of being together eased the pain. Knowing that you would happily read and Like it, however, was what made this a _real_ exercise in healing.**

**Thank you so much for your feedback, your kind words, and all the things you probably didn't even _know_ you were doing for me by just reading and hitting a button.**

**Second: I'm not done with Percy Jackson yet, and I already have a few fics on the burner, all of which will be posted weekly. _Legacies_ is another collection of one-shots, and will feature its first chapter this week!**

**And third: This fic is, as you all are due for your patience, one that is_ just too hot_ for this site. It couldn't even be censored by_me_, there's so much sex- so you'll have to head to Tumblr to read the hot parts. I hate doing this to you, but I'd prefer the whole kaboodle not get taken down by the censors- so please bear with me, as you kindly have thusfar. **

**That Tumblr again is mylittlecthulu . tumblr . com, and can be found on my profile page. **

**Now enjoy the yaoi and Nico-dom... You totally deserve it!**

[This chapter rated: M]

* * *

><p>"Don't you dare laugh."<p>

"Nico," Will sighed, for possibly the third time today. "I'm not going to. I have seen you sit up and curse at Sesame Street characters in your sleep and not remember it the next day. If I didn't laugh at _that_, nothing is going to make me."

"... I did that?"

"Yes," Will said seriously, looking over the top of his glasses at his boyfriend."You said, 'Screw you, Big Bird, I do what I want!' And I want you to understand the sacrifice I have made, in not bringing it up at breakfast the next day. Because it was god. Damned. Hilarious."

"How _very _magnanimous of you," the son of Hades groused, unable despite his best attempts to keep from smiling. He was sitting beside Will on his bed in the drafty Hades cabin, a large shoebox clutched in his lap.

The box had been Will's idea; he'd gotten it into his head recently that Camp needed some kind of psychiatric offering (Nico had to admit it was a good idea), so the guy had been reading psych books in his free time lately. The diagnosing and thought experiments had gotten to be a bit much, all things told. But this box was one exercise Nico, tellingly, was on-board with. It offered the chance to exorcise the few, remaining demons that hung around Nico's brain, chattering and trying to keep him unhappy.

Which was no longer good enough, he'd decided.

Sighing loudly, Nico took the top off his shoebox. Inside were a dozen unrelated objects whose meanings or connections were not in the least immediately obvious- but that was what they were here to discuss.

"Okay... This is my Good Memory Box. The ones worth keeping. Because I have some."

Will's eager smile kept him going, even though his heart was already throbbing in anticipation of pain.

He reached inside tenderly and plucked up a deck of well-loved cards, fastened with a purple hair-tie.

"This is my first Mytho-Magic deck... Including the ones I made myself. God, I couldn't draw for shit."

It felt so strange, to be narrating his own life- but then again, he pretty much had a captive audience.

Will had removed the hair-tie (Bianca's, snatched from her head with an annoyed huff when Nico kept bugging her, in the limo on the way to the Lotus Casino, for something to keep them from flying apart) and was parsing through them individually. His smile wasn't judgmental or devilish at all- it was one of genuine interest.

"I love Redbeard," he said in a voice like sunshine. "And Bluebeard. And Greenbeard. So original. But why'd you put pirates in a game about Greek stuff?"

"They were my two great loves," Nico huffed, resisting the urge to snatch them out of Will's hands. "Pirates and Mythomagic- so I combined them in horrible, unconvincing bootleg cards on printer paper, because I was a dumb kid."

"You were probably more adorable than dumb... Probably all dimples."

Nico's chest seized, tight with affection. He wasn't used to this much attention; he'd been a little weirded out that Will even _cared _about long-lost moments in his life. Nico was still so worried that what they had was fragile, and that it might shatter in his hands if he beheld it too long...  
>Having attention lavished on him was weird... but it was a wonderful kind of weird. Just like this lanky, laughable, confusing, incredibly loving dude who had sauntered so easily into Nico's heart.<p>

"Okay, next."

Nico plucked up a small plastic amulet on a frayed string. "This was a souvenir from Split... It was the last trip my mom and sister and I went on."

"What makes it a happy object?" Will coaxed. Nico squirmed a bit; the images flooding him no longer hurt, strangely. They were at best melancholy, but he could feel something warm shining through behind the sadness his mother's face usually evoked.

"We... we had a picnic just behind the safety rope," he began. "I was scared at first, but no one ever came to stop us. We ate sandwiches in the sunshine, and my mom and Bianca- I can still hear them laughing, in my head. It was a really, really good day."

Will nodded, though Nico was so lost in thought he didn't notice. He put an arm around the boy's shoulders, as though wishing he were inside the memory beside him, or anything that could make him smile that way. "What else, Death Breath?"

"Th-this is a Valentine Bianca gave me... I think it was the year I turned six. I'd broken her yo-yo and she was really mad at me for about two days- but then she still gave me this, and I remember being so relieved. I thought she was going to hate me forever."

Next, a round, silver ring that was much too big and old for Nico's thin, pale fingers.

"This was Minos'. He was a creep, but he was also my friend when I... well, I really needed one. He taught me things that have saved my life... and the lives of my new friends. I still want to remember the good times we had, so I kept this."

Nico drew out a beaded string and looked at it for a long moment, as though gathering his words.

"This is my Camp Half-Blood necklace. I threw this into the bay one day, after the whole Titan War... I was so mad at everyone here. My head was all full of... I don't know, _dark _thoughts- probably the lowest I'd ever been. I didn't think I'd ever belong _anywhere_. I went home and packed everything, ready to run away to my dad's palace... but then I remembered that this _was_ the closest thing to home I'd ever had. That Bianca and I had ever had. I went back down to the beach and searched for hours for it, so scared that if I didn't get it back I'd lose _those _memories too... When I found it washed up in some seaweed, I was so relieved."

"You'll _always_ belong here," Will assured him, pulling his slight form closer.

It was a good thing he did, because Nico's eyes welled up at the next object and he began to tremble a little.

"Th- this is... This is P-Percy's..." It took nearly a minute of cuddling before the words would come out.

"This is Percy's Empire State keychain... I t-took it off his backpack, and I used to p-pretend he gave it to me. I was such a... I just wanted him to love me. I was so stupid..." He sniffed, but fought to make the words come out.

"I don't really... want to forget that I liked him. Because it's a part of who I am. I can't keep running from my f-feelings." He looked up at Will, black eyes deep and lost. "Is that okay?"

"It's more than okay," the blonde answered, kissing him on one tear-stained cheek. "We _all_ do little things like that, when we love someone. Don't you dare feel stupid! And I happen to _love_ those feelings you have. Especially when they're for me instead."

Sniffling, Nico continued to parse through the box; things got easier, once Percy was out of the way.

"This is a postcard from the town I was born in. I Shadow-travelled back there, when my memories started coming back... Hazel gave me this card for my last birthday... This is the shirt I stole from Barrachina, when Reyna and I ended up there. Still has parrot poop on one shoulder... This is a pebble from the shore of the Styx, where I used to go to think and angst..."

By the time the box was empty, Nico felt like he was floating. No sadness could enter this space, which was full of Will and all the moments that Nico no longer had to keep to himself. They lay surrounded by his artifacts for a while: Will stroking the silky head that lay against his chest, and Nico trying to sync up his own pulse with the one his ears were now full of. It was a beautiful, fulfilling moment.

And then Nico, feeling like he was going to overflow, looked up and said "Let's try again," ... and it became a perfect one.

* * *

><p>Their first time had been, as is typical of first times, less than excellent.<p>

Gory details aside, it had hurt; Will had been 'around the block' enough times as to forget how weird and squicky the first time could be, and had moreover been freaked out about hurting Nico. Constantly having to reassure him that no, he was okay, he was only crying because _goddamn, man, nothing has ever been up there before_ had killed any semblance of a mood, and Nico had woken up sore and unfulfilled the next morning.

So they started again today, knowing they were a little wiser- _and_ a lot more lubed-up.

Will was no slouch when it came to foreplay. Whether it came from doctoring or just sheer experience, the way and where he trailed his fingers, nuzzled, and even scraped his teeth was natural and expert. No matter he did, Nico could feel down to his toes that Will _enjoyed_ this body he was offering up- he appreciated it, and cherished it's every curve and cute dimple. There was just such a tenderness, such a passion in the way he kissed down Nico's Adam's Apple or the way his fingers could tease at the waistband of his jeans, waiting, but barely able to do so for the sheer _lust _of him...

Normally, it was Nico doing the wanting and the needing, in their relationship.

Today, though, _Nico_ intended to say all those wordless things back...

**[Continued at mylittlecthulu . tumblr . com]**


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